Charleston, W. Va. - The second run through Mountain East Conference (MEC) play began for the Wheeling University Men's Basketball team (11-7, 6-5) hit the road to West Virginia's state capital on Wednesday night. Senior Caleb Murray continued his hot streak, going over the 20-point mark for the third time in the last six games, but it wasn't enough as the Cardinals fell to the University of Charleston 88-79. The Cardinals would spread the ball around, with four different players hitting double figures, but it wasn't enough as Wheeling fell to 6-5 in conference play. 

Murray's success would come in the short range shots, where he finished 8-15 (53.3%) from the floor, on his way to a 22-point effort. Two of those shots would come from three-point range, and it continued a stretch of play that has seen him average 18.3 points per game over his last six games. He would be joined by Tee Harris Jr. (14), Alex Smith (11), and Ayden Goll (11), who each finished with double figures in the effort. Harris continued his recent string of success on the glass, pulling down six rebounds in the effort, and led the way with two steals and one block to keep his strong defensive play going. Smith was a key piece to the passing game, leading the way with seven assists while going a perfect 6-6 from the charity stripe. It was an efficient start to the game that kept Wheeling in the game early, with the team shooting 50% (14-28) from the floor and 50% (7-14) from three point range, but they could not keep the effort up in the second half. 

Murray got things going right from the opening tip-off needing just 16 seconds to hit from three-point range and put Wheeling out in front 3-0. However, it would be the lone Cardinal score over the first two and a half minutes of play, and a 9-5 run by Charleston would give them an early lead. Alex Smith would come to the line for a pair of free throws to break the run, and the Cardinals trailed 9-7 heading to the first media timeout. Charleston tried to keep the momentum going with a dunk, but Murray would hit from long range on the very next possession, keeping it an 11-10 game. Two minutes later, Harris would tie things up with a three, making it a 13-13 game, but another Golden Eagle run would create separation. Charleston responded with a three from Ben Nichol, and went on a 6-0 run to make it a 19-13 affair. The Cardinals would get three of those points back courtesy of a Jerry Saunders Jr. Three, but Charleston held a 21-16 lead with 10 minutes to go before the half. 

Charleston would make it a 10-point game at the 7:32 mark, with Nichol once again hitting from three to make it a 30-20 game. Jalen Wenger hit a three of his own on the next possession, and sent the Cardinals on an 8-0 run. Saunders would cap off the run with a three and with 5:34 to play, the deficit was cut to 30-28. The two teams would go back and forth over the next two minutes, with Charleston expanding their lead, before Wheeling was quick to answer. Murray would hit a jumper with 3:55 to go in the first half, and Curtis Harrison IV would give Wheeling their first lead since the opening minute with a pair of free throws that made it 37-36. Charleston would quickly take the lead back at 41-37, but it was Murray who would get things back to even by the halftime break. He would hit a jumper that got them to within two points at 41-39, and finished things off in the final seconds of the half. After a foul gave Wheeling the ball back with five seconds to go, Murray would complete the alley-oop from Smith and the teams went into halftime with the score sitting at 41-41.  

The good vibes kept rolling into the second half, with Harris hitting a three to start things off and Goll added a jumper that gave Wheeling a 46-43 advantage, their largest since the opening minute. Charleston would bring the game even two times over the next four minutes, but each time the Cardinals had an answer. Goll would hit a three at the 17:17 mark to make it a 51-48 game, and Harris hit a free theow a minute later to keep it a three-point Cardinal advantage. Charleston would score four straight points heading into the media timeout and the Golden Eagles were back out in front 53-52. Murray would come out of the break with a pair of free throws to put Wheeling back out in front 54-53, before both defenses when on lock. Neither team would score for the next four minutes, before a 5-1 Golden Eagle run that spanned 44 seconds would flip the scoreboard to 58-55 with ten minutes to play. 

The run would expand to 8-1 in favor of Charleston before Murray broke the string with a layup with 8:31 to play. The senior would account for the next eight Cardinal points and was single-handedly keeping the Cardinals within striking distance at 66-63. However, another 5-0 Golden Eagle run created separation and the Cardinals headed into the final media timeout trailing 73-65. Charleston kept the roll going, leading by as much as 81-67 with 3:18 to play, before the Cardinals made one final push for the lead. Smith would get things started with a three-pointer, and Goll added a pair of free throws to make it an 81-72 game with 2:35 to play. However, that is as close as the Cardinals got, with the teams trading the final 14 points, and Wheeling would fall by the final score of 88-79. After hitting 50% of their shots in the first half, Wheeling shot just 35.7% from the floor in the second half to round out the day. 

The Wheeling University Men's Basketball team returns to action on Saturday, January 31st, when they host West Virginia State with tip-off at 4 PM.