Wheeling, W. Va. - Entering Saturday afternoon's game, the Wheeling University Men's Basketball team (12-7, 7-5) had lost two games in a row for the first time all season. The offense would take matters into their own hands to break the streak and get the Cardinals back in the win column when they hosted West Virginia State Saturday. The Cardinals hit the century mark for the third time this season, and had two different players go over the 20-point threshold, as they picked up a 106-92 win to go to 7-5 in Mountain East Conference (MEC) play.

West Virginia State would get the first points of the night on a jumper from Trey Harris, but the Cardinals came right back as Ayden Goll connected with Tee Harris Jr. To tie things at 2-2. Caleb Murray would add a jumper on the next possession, and Wheeling's defense would hold the Yellow Jackets to just two points over the first two and a half minutes. The teams would battle back and forth through the first media timeout, but a Harris three would turn the tide. Murray added another coming off the break and Trevor Beresford hit a layup to cap the 8-0 Cardinal swing. The Cardinals would surrender just two free throws over the next five minutes, and Jerry Saunders Jr. And DJ Wingfield kept the three parade going to extend the Cardinal's lead to 25-12. West Virginia State would get the final points before the 10 minute mark, but the Cardinals remained the aggressors with a 25-14 advantage.

The Yellow Jackets would work their way back to single digits with a short 4-0 run, but Lamar Dampier answered with a layup to get the deficit back to double digits. Goll would get a steal on the next possession and went coast-to-coast on a Wingfield three to put the Cardinals up 32-18. The three ball would be a big part of the Cardinal's game throughout the night, but especially during the first half surge, with Wheeling hitting 10 threes over the first 20 minutes of play. Goll and Muray would each add long range buckets before the media timeout, and the Cardinals had their biggest lead of the night at 40-23. With 2:46 to play in the half, Goll would hit a layup to get the Cardinals over the 50-point mark, and added the final three of the half with just a minute to play. Despite West Virginia State scoring the final seven points of the half, the Cardinals had built a comfortable advantage, and headed to the locker room with a 54-35 score in their favor.

It was another efficient performance from the floor that pushed Wheeling in front, with the Cardinals shooting 22-39 (56.4%) from the floor and 10-18 (55.6%) from three-point range. West Virginia State extended their run to 9-0 with a Aymeric Toussaint layup coming out of the half, but Curtis Harrison IV would bring it to a halt with a big time dunk. Murray coupled the effort with a layup and jump shot, and Wheeling sent the game on a 6-2 swing. The senior would keep his hot streak going with a dunk of his own and Harrison made it a 20-point advantage with a jumper. The Cardinals kept their 20-point advantage until the 12:33 mark, when a free throw sent West Virginia State on a short 4-2 swing.  West Virginia State continued to cut into the lead, and a three-pointer before the 10-minute mark had the game sitting at 83-66.

The Yellow Jackets capped off an 11-2 run right before the media timeout was sounded, but Ayden Goll would turn things around with three free throws after drawing a foul. The Cardinals were creeping on the century mark with 5:12 to go, and a Wingfield three got them three points away at 97-78. Harris would add a jumper and as the clock hit the 1:50 mark, Goll went in for the layup that got the Cardinals to 101 points. They held a 101-88 advantage, and it was Goll who would end things for the Cardinals. He hit a jumper and a three-pointer in the final minute of play, and despite two West Virginia State buckets, it wasn't enough as Wheeling held on for the 106-92 victory. It broke the short two-game skid for the Cardinals and have them riding high heading into the month of February.

It was a dynamic duo at the top of the Cardinal lineup, with Ayden Goll and Caleb Murray each finishing with 23 points on the night. Murray hit the most baskets for the Cardinals, going 10-22 (45.4%) from the floor and 3-9 (33.3%) from three-point range, while Goll was the most efficient, going 8-16 (50%) from the floor and leading the way with four three-pointers on the night, finishing 4-6 (66.7%) from three-point range. Tee Harris Jr. (16), Jerry Saunders Jr. (13), and DJ Wingfield (11) would each hit double digits to round out the big offensive effort, with a total of nine different Cardinals putting up points. Murray would lead the defensive effort with eight rebounds and Goll would round out the effort with a team-high seven assists in the game.

The Wheeling University Men's Basketball team returns to action on Wednesday, February 4^th, when they host West Virginia Wesleyan with tip-off at 7:30 PM.