Wheeling, W. Va. - The last time that the Wheeling University Men's Basketball team (15-8, 10-6) had a first round bye in the Mountain East Conference (MEC) Men's Basketball Tournament was in 2020. On Wednesday night, the Cardinals will have a chance to lock up that first round bye, when they hit the road to face Concord with tip-off at 7:30 PM. A Wheeling win would officially clinch the bye for the Cardinals, but they will have to get through a talented Mountain Lion team to do it.
Last time out, the Cardinals would take on Frostburg State inside the Alma Grace McDonough Center. It was a back and forth game early on, with neither team holding more than a five point lead until the final seconds of the quarter. It would come on a last second three to end the half, and Wheeling would go into the locker room holding a 36-30 advantage. The Cardinals would hit just 35.9% of their shots in the first half, but found the efficiency down the stretch. Both offenses would find their groove, with the teams combining to score 106 points in the final 20 minutes. The Bobcats would outscore Wheeling 54-52 over the final 20 minutes, but the late three was enough to help the Cardinals hang on for the 88-84 win.
It was a big performance for junior Tee Harris Jr., who picked up his fourth double-double of the season, putting up 14 points while grabbing 10 rebounds. In the first half, Harris did not have a single point or rebound to his stat line, and Head Coach Chris Richardson challenged him to be better. He responded, coming out in the second half and scoring all 14 of his points while picking up 10 rebounds. He played big on the defensive glass for the Cardinals, with seven of his 10 rebounds being on the defensive end of the floor. Harris leads the Cardinals with four double-doubles on the season and helped the team hold off the late Frostburg State push. The junior sits second on the team with an average of 6.1 rebounds/game and third in scoring with an average of 13.7 points per game.
It was another big offensive effort for Ayden Goll, who led the way with 24 points in the effort. He was the Cardinal's most efficient shooter on the night, going 9-16 (56.3%) from the floor and 5-9 (55.5%) from three-point range. After taking a backseat for a while in mid January, Goll is back on an offensive hot streak, averaging 19.0 PPG over his last seven contests. Sitting right behind him was Caleb Murray, who finished with 21 points in the winning effort. He would sit right behind Goll, shooting 8-18 (44.4%) from the floor and added two three-pointers to round out the day. Goll and Murray have been a strong 1-2 punch on offense for the Cardinals and they look to lead the team through the rest of the season.
With four games left on the 2025-2026 MEC schedule, the Cardinals find themselves in a log jam atop the MEC. Wheeling is one of three teams sitting tied for third in the conference, equaling the marks of both Glenville State and Charleston at 10-6. The trio holds a one-game lead over Wheeling's Wednesday opponent, Concord, and sits just two games ahead of Frostburg State. The last two weeks of the season for the Cardinals will see them play three teams all in the mix for the top six spots in the tournament, and will look to keep pace with the rest of the field. A win on Wednesday would take the pressure of the first round bye off the Cardinal's plate and let them focus on seeding with match-ups against both Glenville State and Wes Liberty looming in the final two weeks.
The Match-up
The Cardinals and Mountain Liosn are meeting for the 47th time in program history on Wednesday, and the second time so far during the 2025-2026 season. Wheeling leads the all-time series at 25-21, but is currently down in the season series after falling to Concord at home last time out. The Cardinals hold a 9-10 record when they travel to Athens, West Virginia, and are looking to break what has been a seven-game losing streak to the Mountain Lions, dating back to the 2021-2022 season.
The first meeting this year between the two teams came on January 14th, 2026, in a game that Concord would win 108-100. Wheeling was led by Ayden Goll in the game, scoring 35 points and shooting 9-18 (50%) from the floor. Caleb Murray would add 13 points, including three three-pointers, in the effort while Curtis Harrison IV finished with 11 points to round out the effort.
The Details
Tip-off for Wednesday's game is scheduled for 7:30 PM inside the Carter Center on the campus of Concord University. You can watch the game live by clicking HERE or follow along with Live Stats by clicking HERE.
