Wheeling, W. Va. - After soaring to a victory to open the West Liberty Tip-off Classic, the Wheeling University Men's Basketball team (3-0, 0-0) looked to ride the momentum into day two. They would take on Pitt-Johnstown and, after taking a lead into halftime, the Cardinals would have to survive a second half comeback from the Mountain Cats. In the end, Wheeling was able to survive the comeback and earned the 88-80 win to move to 3-0 to start the season for the first time since the 2019-2020 season.
Just like the opener of the tournament, the Cardinals would get on the board first after a Levon Jacobs block paved the way for an Ayden Goll lay-up. However, Pitt-Johnstown would answer, scoring seven of the next nine points to take a 7-4 lead over the first four minutes of the game. Alex Smith would get the Cardinals back on the board with a pair of free throws, and a three from Goll would tie things up at 9-9 heading into the media timeout. Wheeling continued that momentum coming out of the timeout, when an offensive rebound set up Jacobs for a three-pointer that got the Cardinals going. They would score nine of the next 11 points, capped by a fastbreak lay-up from Ayden Goll as the Cardinals led 18-16 with 10:45 to play in the half.
After the Mountain Cats broke the run, it was the Cardinal's bench's turn to make their presence felt, with D.J. Wingfield starting things off. He would go 1-2 from the free throw line at the 10-minute mark, and he added a three to extend the Cardinal's lead to 22-14. After Derek Wilson got on the scoresheet, Wingfield would just keep shooting, scoring the next eight Cardinal points, as they pushed their advantage to 32-21 with 7:01 to go before the break. After a brief 4-0 Mountain Cat run got them back to within five, Wilson would send the game into the five-minute media timeout with the Cardinals leading 36-29. Pitt-Johnstown got as close as 38-31 with three minutes to play, and that deficit would stay at seven as Baden Forup hit a three with 39 seconds to go. The Cardinals countered with a three of their own from Jake Stout, and they would head into the break with Wheeling leading 43-33.
As they came out of the halftime break, the Cardinal's momentum continued with Ayden Goll going coast to coast on a steal, to start a 6-0 Wheeling run. Moustapha Sanoh would slam a dunk to end the run and, after the Mountain Cats broke the run, he would slam a second dunk to get the Cardinals over 50 points in the effort. With the Cardinals leading 51-36, Pitt-Johnstown was still alive and fighting, and Alex Wendt would hit a pair of free throws out of the media timeout, it would start a 9-2 Mountain Cat run that cut the Cardinal lead back to single-digits at 53-45. Wheeling was looking for someone to break the run, and it would be Carson Swanson with five straight points that got Wheeling back into a double-digit lead, and Sanoh would add a three that pushed Wheeling to their largest lead of the night at 61-45 with 11:49 to play.
However, Pitt-Johnstown continued to battle, and would swing the game on a 9-2 run and at the ten minute mark, what once was a 16-point Cardinal lead had shrunk to 63-53. The Cardinals needed a big run to get back on track and, for the second time this week, they would turn to their captain Alex Smith. Smith would score four straight Cardinal points, followed by a lay-up and a free throw from Lamar Dampier that pushed Wheeling's lead back to 70-55 with 8:23 left on the clock. Smith would just continue scoring, adding an offensive rebound and a layup a minute later, and he would help keep Wheelign in front through the five-minute media timeout. Sanoh would hit another jumper with 2:18 to play, and Wheeling's lead would stand at 81-68. Pitt-Johnstown would have one more push, going on a 12-5 run over the final two minutes. They would get as close as 86-80, but a pair of Jake Stout free throws with six seconds to go finished out the 88-80 Wheeling win.
Leading the way for the Cardinals was redshirt senior Alex Smith, who picked up the first double-double of the season for the Cardinals, finishing with 14 points and 12 rebounds. He would be Wheeling's second leading scorer, while shooting 45.4% from the floor, while leading the defense in the effort. The Cardinal's leading scorer on the night was D.J. Wingfield, who set a career-high with 16 points, including three three-pointers, while Ayden Goll added 15 in the winning effort and a team-best seven assists. Moustapha Sanoh would round out the double-digit scorers, putting up 11 points while being the most efficient shooter, going 55.5% from the floor.
The Wheeling University Men's Basketball team returns to action on Thursday, November 19, when they host the University of Findlay with tip-off at 6 PM
