Buckhannon, W. Va. - The Wheeling University Men's Basketball team (8-3, 4-1) entered the 2026 portion of their schedule riding high with the best start since the 2017-18 season. They were able to keep the good times rolling on Saturday, thanks to a strong start against West Virginia Wesleyan. The Bobcats made a push over the final five minutes, but Wheeling was able to hold on for the 78-72 victory, moving them to 4-1 in Mountain East Conference (MEC) play.
After West Virginia Wesleyan's Jerell Baptiste hit the first three of the game on the first possession, Curtis Harrison IV would answer for the Cardinals a minute and a half later. Defense would rule the first five minutes of the game, with the teams combining for just 18 points over the first five minutes of play. Back-to-back jumpers by Tee Harris Jr and Alex Smith would send Wheeling into the first media timeout with an 11-7 lead. The run would continue with a Caleb Murray free throw, and a Smith three as Wheeling would take a 15-7 lead. There would be a two minute scoring drought, but the Bobcat's Nick Davis broke up the 6-0 Wheeling run and sent the Bobcats on a 5-0 response of their own. DJ Wingfield and Jalen Wenger got Wheeling back on track and a three-pointer from Murray would give Wheeling a 22-14 lead with 10 minutes left in the half.
West Virginia Wesleyan was able to keep the Cardinal lead to single digits until the 8:22 mark, when Wingfield drove in for a lay-up to make it a 26-16 game. After the Bobcats briefly cut the lead to eight, Smith would add a jumper that put the Cardinals up by double digits once again. By the five-minute media timeout, Wheeling held their lead at 30-20 and, after a pair of West Virginia Wesleyan free throws, Harrison had the Cardinals off and running again. He would hit a layup that started a 6-2 run, with the junior accounting for four of the six points, as Wheeling took their biggest lead of the day at 38-24. Ayden Goll would get the Cardinals to the 40-point mark with 52 seconds left in the half, and Harrison would slam down a dunk in the final seconds of the half to send the Cardinals in the locker room with a 42-26 advantage.
It was an efficient half from the floor for the Cardinals, with Wheeling shooting 45.7% (16-35) from the floor and 77.8% (7-9) from the free throw line. As the second half began, West Virginia Wesleyan's Stephen Ovia hit a layup to start the half, but the Cardinals would continue to extend the lead. They hit a 6-2 run over the next four minutes, with another Harrison dunk highlighted the run. Harrison would add a pair of free throws and a Jerry Saunders Jr. Coast-to-Coast layup sent Wheeling into the media timeout with a 52-33 lead. With their lead sitting at 29, the Cardinals would begin to turn to their bench with Lamar Dampier, Jalen Wenger, and Alex Smith each scoring over the next five minutes. However, the Bobcats were not going down quietly, outscoring Wheeling 11-7 over the five minute stretch. Smith would hit a three just before the ten-minute media and Wheeling led 59-44 with 10 minutes to play.
Harris would account for the next three Cardinal points, the only points over the next three minutes, and Wheeling would lead 63-44 with 7:51 left on the clock. Harris would add four more points over the next two minutes, and an Ayden Goll layup got Wheeling to the 71-point mark with five-minutes to play. The Cardinals would turn to their bench, but West Virginia Wesleyan made one final push for the win. Following the media timeout, the Bobcats would go on a 17-3 run, and cut what was a 21-point Cardinal lead to a 74-67 Wheeling lead with 1:33 to play. It would be the Cardinal's leading free throw shooter that ended the day, as Goll would go 4-6 from the free throw line over the final minute and a half. Jevon Westfall would score the final Bobcat points of the day, and the Cardinals would earn the 78-72 win, picking up their fourth MEC win of the season.
Leading the way for the Cardinals was junior Tee Harris Jr., who set a new season-high with 17 points in the winning effort. He would shoot 5-11 (45.4%) from the floor, but it was the free throw line where he really shined, finishing 7-8 (87.5%) from the chairty stripe. He would be one of four Cardinals to hit double figures on the day, with Alex Smith adding 14 points. Smith was the only Cardinal to hit multiple three-pointers, going 2-4 (50%) from long range. Curtis Harrison finished with a near double-double, scoring 13 points while leading the way with nine rebounds, while Ayden Goll added 13 points and a team-best six assists to round out the effort.
The Wheeling University Men's Basketball team returns to action on Wednesday, January 7th, when they host Fairmont State with tip-off at 7:30 PM.
