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WEST LIBERTY – After opening the 2026-2027 season with a win on their home floor Monday, the Wheeling University Men’s Basketball team (2-0, 0-0) headed up Route 88 for the 2026 West Liberty Tip-off Classic. The Cardinals opened tournament play against CAL-U and put together a dominant first half that would see them put up 50 points over the first 20 minutes. They rode that early success to an 84-50 win to move to 2-0 on the season and earned a WLU Tip-off Classic opening win for the second year in a row.
Wheeling would win the opening tip-off and got going right away as Levon Jacobs drove into the paint and made the lay-up to start the night. It would get the Cardinals out to a 6-2 lead over the first three minutes, with Jake Stout adding two free throws and Moustapha Sanoh finishing with a dunk to give the Cardinals a 6-1 lead. After CAL-U came back to make it a two-point game, Jake Stout would hit a three just before the 15-minute media timeout, and the Cardinals would continue to add to their lead. It was the first of four three-pointers that helped the Cardinals go on a 15-4 run and extended their lead to 25-10. Kwynsie Pittsnogle would end the run with a three, and kept the Cardinal’s going with a layup that made it 27-12 as the 10-minute mark ticked past, and Derek Wilson would get a fast break lay-up, that had the Cardinals ahead 29-12.
Wheeling went into the locker room leading 50-21 at the break. It was an efficient half for the Cardinals, shooting 55.88% from the floor.
CAL-U would come out of the locker room strong, scoring four of the first seven points of the half, with an Alex Smith three accounting for the lone Cardinal score. The Vulcans would get things going over the first five minutes, cutting the Cardinal lead to 57-30 with 14:33 to play, but Smith continued his big run. After hitting the three to start the half, he would add five more points during the first eight minutes of the half, including a steal before going coast-to-coast and drawing a foul that gave the Cardinals a 63-30 lead. It would be Wingfield hitting the final two free throws before the 10-minute mark and the Cardinals would hold a 67-35 advantage. With the Cardinal lead in-hand, Head Coach Chris Richardson would head into his bench, and they would finish out the strong night.
Leading the effort for the Cardinals was redshirt sophomore Ayden Goll, who finished with 16 points in the effort. It was the second straight game that saw Goll score 15+ points, and he shot 50% (6-12) from the floor. He was one of five Cardinals to hit double figures on the night, with Jake Stout (13), Alex Smith (11), Levon Jacobs (11), and Derek Wilsn (10) all hitting double figures on the night. For Wilson, it was a career-high effort, as he led the Cardinal bench points. Smith and Sanoh would lead the defense with nine rebounds, while Goll finished with a team-high six assists. The other two career-high efforts came from Drew Fitzwater and Jackson Morrison, as they rounded out the night.
The Wheeling University Men’s Basketball team returns to action on Saturday, November 14, when they take on Pitt-Johnstown on day two of the WLU Tip-off Classic with tip-off at 2 p.m.