Wheeling, W. Va. – It was a battle between two of the top teams in the Mountain East Conference (MEC) on Friday night when the Wheeling University Men's Basketball team (8-4, 4-2) welcomed Fairmont State inside the Alma Grace McDonough Center. Defense was the name of the game, with the two teams combining for 46 turnovers, but the Falcons were able to outlast the Cardinals 74-71. The Cardinals fall to 4-2 in conference play with the loss, but showed they can battle with the top teams in the conference.
Early on, both teams showed off their defensive prowess, with the two teams combining for just 12 points over the first five minutes of play. Fairmont State would get things started, scoring the first four points of the game, before a Curtis Harrison IV hit a three at the 16:54 mark that got the Cardinals on the board. After giving up the first four points at the 17:28 mark, Wheeling's defense went on lockdown, holding the Falcons off the baord over the next five minutes. The result was an 11-0 Cardinal run, capped by a Tee Harris Jr. Three pointer that had the Cardinals up 11-4 by the 13:18 mark. David Jolinder would break the Cardinal's run at the 12:36 mark and carried the Falcons right back into it. He accounted for six straight Falcon points and tied things up once again at 11-11 just a minute and a half later. The teams would end up trading the next six points and a Jerry Saunders Jr. Layup sent the Cardinals into the 10-minute media with a 15-13 lead.
Coming out of the break, Murray would hit from three to extend the Wheeling lead to 18-13, but once again the Falcons went streaking. This time, it was Drey carter getting the run started with a layup, and Fairmont State would score the game's next six points. They would take a 19-18 lead with 7:44 to go in the half, before Harrison laid down a dunk that put Wheeling back on top at 20-19. The lead would end up being short-lived as a six-point Fairmont State swing would make it a 26-20 game with 3:58 to play. Lamar Dampier would add a layup to break the run, but six more Falcon points made it an 11-point game with 1:32 to go in the half. Trevor Beresford would get to the line, going 1-2 and Alex Smith completed a three-point play with two seconds left to get Wheeling to within seven points. The teams would hit the halftime break with Fairmont State clinging to a 33-26 lead and the Cardinals looking to be more efficient from the floor.
After shooting just 34.5% from the floor in the first half, the Cardinals came out the gates strong in the the second half. They scored the first eight points of the new half, with Ayden Goll getting things started with a layup. Four different Cardinals would get on the board during the run, and a Harris layup would give Wheeling their first lead since the 10 minute mark of the first half. While the offense was scoring, the defense held down the fort by keeping Fairmont State off the board for the first four and a half minutes of the half. Jolinder would go 1-2 from the free throw line to break the Cardinal run, but a Murray three-pointer had Wheeling ahead once again at 37-36 with 16 minutes to play. Fairmont State would tie things up before the media timeout, before the Falcons took a 40-37 advantage thanks to a CJ Meredith three-pointer. Smith responded with a layup, but the Falcons would be off and running on a 7-0 swing over the next three minutes. Smith and Jalen Wenger each hit threes before the media timeout, but Fairmont State had built a 50-45 lead with 10 minutes to play.
Wenger provided a big second half spark Off the bench, and coming out of the media time out he would hit two more shots. It got the Cardinals to within one point of Fairmont State at 50-49, And the Cardinals remained within a point of the Falcons for the next three minutes. However, the half of runs continued for the Falcons as they scored seven straight points And followed that with a 5-0 swing to make it a 64-53 Game with just over five minutes to play. Wheeling would need one more big spark down the stretch and got it from Harrison who slammed down a dunk with 4:38 to go. It was the first of five straight points for the junior as he helped the Cardinals get to within eight points with just three and a half minutes to play. Harrison kept the success going following the media time out, adding a three-pointer and two free throws and with 56 seconds left on the game clock Wheeling trailed by just seven points. Wheeling would outscore Fairmont State 8-4 over the final minute, but it wasn't enough to complete the comeback. Harris hit a three at the buzzer and Wheeling fell by the final score of 74-71.
Thanks to his big surge late, Curtis Harrison IV led the way for Wheeling with 19 points and six rebounds. Of those 19 points, 10 of them came in the final five minutes of regulation as he helped the Cardinals come back effort. Three other Cardinals finished in double digits on the night with Caleb Murray (12), Tee Harris Jr. (11), and Alex Smith (10) each hitting the mark. Along with hitting double figures, Smith would also lead both the rebounding and passing game for the Cardinals finishing with eight rebounds and six assists. Jalen Wenger rounded out the night with a strong performance off the bench, putting up seven points and going 3-4 from the floor. After finishing with a 34.48% mark from the floor in the first half, the Cardinals upped their game in the second half, hitting just over 40% of their shots to round out the night.
The Wheeling University Men's Basketball team returns to action on Saturday, January 10th, when they hit the road to face Frostburg State with tip off at 4 PM
