Wheeling, W. Va. – With a capacity crowd on hand, the biggest college basketball rivalry in the Ohio Valley tipped off Saturday afternoon in the Alma Grace McDonough Center. The Wheeling University Men's Basketball team (19-8, 14-6) hosted West Liberty in "The Battle for Wheeling." It was a game that was played whistle to whistle with excitement, but the Cardinals toppled the Hilltoppers 93-91 for their 19th win of the season, securing the #3 seed in the Mountain East Conference (MEC) Men's Basketball Tournament.
It was an instant classic inside the Alma Grace McDonough Center as the Cardinals battled back from down 58-44 after an 11-6 Hilltopper run started the half. Wheeling cut the lead to 70-67 as Tee Harris Jr.single-handedly got the Cardinals back in the game. He went off, scoring seven straight points, started by a three. Harris would continue to be a mainstay in the comeback effort, putting up a career high 35 points in the win. With 4:25 left in regulation, it would be a Harris three that got the Cardinals within striking distance at 82-80. After the teams traded a pair of layups, a three-pointer by Landon Butler took West Liberty's lead to 87-82. Curtis Harrison IV answered with a three and it was a two-point game once again at 87-85. The back and forth continued for two more possessions until a foul on Caleb Murray brought West Liberty's Butler to the line with the chance to make it a two possession game with 1:20 on the clock.
The Bird Cage got loud and Butler would end up missing both shots to keep it an 89-87 affair. Harrison would come down with the rebound and the Cardinals went streaking up the floor to their offensive end. They got the ball into the hands of redshirt freshman Ayden Goll. He set his shot up just left of the top of the key, sending the go ahead shot towards the net. It would swish right through and the Cardinals fans erupted with their team now holding a 90-89 lead. However, after a West Liberty time out, the Hilltoppers would take that lead right back. Jamie Muldowney would lay the shot in the basket and West Liberty was once again in front 92-91. Wheeling would have to try and break the Hilltoppers press and they quickly worked the ball up past half-court. Goll would drive towards the net and was fouled as he tried to finish.
It would bring the Cardinals best free throw shooter to the line with a chance to retake the lead with just 22 seconds on the clock. West Liberty's fans wouldn't make it easy, making noise to try and distract the redshirt freshman, but he sank both shots and Wheeling took the 92-91 lead. Wheeling would need one more stop on the defensive end, but a foul brought the Hilltopper's Jamie Muldowney to the line with a one-and-one opportunity to tie the game. He would end up missing the free throw and Harris fought for the rebound before Wheeling was able to call a time out. The Cardinals would have to break the Hilltopper press and a long pass down Court was nearly intercepted. However, Goll was able to get his hand on the ball and fight for the jump ball call from the officials. It would keep the ball in Wheeling's possession and forced West Liberty to foul.
They would send Caleb Murray to the line and he went 1-2 on the one-and-one chance. With just two seconds on the clock, West Liberty would throw a desperation three-pointer that banged off the backboard and fell to the floor. It closed out a thrilling 93-91 win for the Cardinals as the team rushed the court to celebrate with their teammates. For the six seniors honored in the pregame ceremony, it was the first time in their careers that they were able to beat the Hilltoppers, and the first win for the program against West Liberty since the 2023-2024 season. The win also helped the Cardinals as they approach next week's MEC Tournament, securing them the #3 seed in the field, their highest since being the #2 seed in the 2017-18 tournament. Wheeling secured their 13th win in 30 home meetings with the Hilltoppers, with everyone on the court contributing.
Of the 11 Cardinals who hit the floor, nine of them finished with at least two points on the night, led by a career day from Tee Harris Jr. The junior put up a career-high 35 points in the effort, while finishing just one rebound shy of his sixth double douvle of the season. He put together his most efficient game of the season, going 16-23 (69.6%) from the floor, with two of those shots coming from three-point range. Two other Cardinals finished in double figures on the day, vwith Ayden Goll (15) and Caleb Murray (13) each hitting the mark. In the first half, it was the bench that provided a spark led by a big day from DJ Wingfield, who provided seven points off the bench. Redshirt junior Alex Smith led the passing game with nine assists, and was right behind Harris with seven rebounds. As a team, the Cardinals shot 54.7% from the floor, shooting 50% or better in back-to-back games.
The drama could be felt right from the start, with the back and forth getting started right away. West Liberty got the first strike with a three on the opening possession, but Tee Harris Jr. Responded with a layup that got Wheeling on the board. Defense ruled the early portion of the game, with both teams combining for just 10 points in the first three minutes. Wheeling was getting their points in the paint, with Harris and Curtis Harrison IV each hitting layups to account for the Cardinals first six points of the game. West Liberty would hit the first mini run of the game, going on a five-point swing, Wheeling was quick to answer and a dunk from Harris right before the media timeout made it an 18-12 game. West Liberty got up by as much as 22-12 with 12:13 to go in the half, before the bench gave Wheeling a spark.
It started with a jumper from DJ Wingfield, and Lamar Dampier added a three that got the Cardinals to within three points at 23-20. Wingfield finished the run with a layup and a three-pointer to cap off a 13-1 swing that gave Wheeling their first lead of the night at 25-23. However, the Toppers came right back on a 10-0 swing, erasing the Cardinal lead and making it a 33-25 game with 6:04 left on the first half clock. Smith hit a free throw and Goll came back with a three to get the Cardinals back on track, but they would not overtake West Liberty for the rest of the half. Wheeling would keep it close, outscoring West Liberty 13-10 down the final six minute stretch. They would make it a one-possession game with 17 seconds to go when Murray hit a three to make it 41-38, but the Hilltoppers would get the final points heading into the locker room. They led 44-38 at half, but a 55-point second half lifted the Cardinals to victory.
The Wheeling University Men's Basketball team now heads to MEC Tournament play, where they await their first round match-up as the #3 seed.
