Wheeling, W. Va. – For the first time since the 2019-20 season, the Wheeling University Men's Basketball team received a first round bye in the Mountain East Conference (MEC) Men's Basketball Tournament. After watching the first round action on Wednesday, the Cardinals will hit the floor at WesBanco Arena for Quarterfinal action Friday, when they take on #6 Concord with tip-off at 2:30 PM. The Cardinals will look to advance to the MEC Tournament semifinals for the first time since the 2017-18 season as they look to carry their late-season momentum into tournament play.
Wheeling comes into the tournament riding high, having won each of their five games including a 93-91 victory over #6 seeded West Liberty to wrap up the regular season. It was an efficient day from the floor for the Cardinals, with the team hitting 54.7% (35-64) of their shots throughout the night, with the Cardinals taking an early 4-3 lead. However, West Liberty would answer with four straight points to take the lead, which they held for the next 10 minutes. The lead would end up changing hands three times in the half, but the Hilltoppers would head into the locker room with a 43-38 advantage. Wheeling would keep the Hilltoppers in striking distance, trailing 87-82 with 2:38 to play before an 8-2 run capped by a three-pointer by Ayden Goll that gave the Cardinals a 90-89 lead. The Cardinals would cap things off at the free throw line, and they earned the 93-91 win to clinch the #3 seed.
Leading the effort on the court was junior Tee Harris Jr., who set a new career-high for the second game in a row with 35 points. The junior had an efficient day from the floor, shooting 16-23 (69.6%) from the floor while adding a pair of three-pointers in the effort. It capped off a big week for Harris, who scored 61 points between two games, while picking up his fifth double-double of the season, finishing with 19 points. Harris has been a force on both sides of the ball, scoring double figures in 14 straight games, averaging 16.4 PPG during that stretch and added four of his five double-doubles during the stretch. He looks to keep that success going into tournament play as the Cardinals look to make a deep run as the #3 seed.
When it came down to the game's final moments, the Cardinals turned to their leader on the floor in redshirt freshman Ayden Goll. Goll finished with 15 points in the contest, with none being bigger than his final shot of the game. It capped off an 8-0 run with 59 seconds left as Goll worked his way up the court. He set up at the top of the key and let the ball rip for a three-pointer that gave the Cardinals a 90-89 lead. It kept a string of 11 straight double-digit games going for the conference's third leading scorer, averaging 18.1 PPG. The final double digit scorer for the Cardinals was Caleb Murray, who finished with 10 points in the effort. He would go 2-5 from three-point range and ended the day as the Cardinal's most efficient shooter from the floor, hitting five of his nine shots. Goll and Murray were each honored on the MEC's All-MEC Men's Basketball list and will look to lead the offensive push.
With the first round action in the books, the field is set for the MEC Men's Basketball Quarterfinals, with four games being played on Friday. With a win, the Cardinals would face the winner of #2 Fairmont State and #7 Frostburg State in the 2:30 PM game on Saturday. On the other side of the bracket, #1 West Liberty takes on #8 Davis & Elkins, and #4 Charleston battles #5 Glenville State in the 8:30 PM game for the right to move on to Saturday. Wheeling will be looking for their first Tournament win inside WesBanco Arena since the 2021-2022 season, when they knocked Alderson Broaddus out in their first-round match-up. Each of the games have been close since then, with each of the past two tournament games being decided by two points. Wheeling's offense will look to get things started as they begin their run towards an MEC Championship.
The Match-up
The Cardinals and Mountain Lions are meeting for the 48th time in program history on Friday, including the third time in postseason play. Wheeling leads the all-time series with a record fo 26-21, while the two teams have split the previous two postseason meetings between the two teams. The Cardinals are averaging 82.38 points per game in the all-time series, and played a tale of two games this season, scoring 100 points in the first meeting, and followed that up with a 77 point effort in the second meeting.
The last meeting between the two teams came on February 18th, 2026, in a game that Wheeling won 77-71 inside the Alma Grace McDonough Center. It was a big day for Tee Harris Jr., who finish with 21 points including a 10-15 (66.7%) from the floor in the effort. Ayden Goll added 14 points while Jerry Saunders Jr. Led the bench players with 16 points to round out the day.
The Details
Tip-off for Friday's game is scheduled for 2:30 PM inside WesBanco Arena. You can watch the game live by clicking HERE, listen to the audio only broadcast by clicking HERE, or follow along with Live Stats by clicking HERE.
