URBANA, Ohio – The Urbana University men's basketball team kept its tournament hopes alive following tonight's 74-67 win over Wheeling inside the Grimes Center.
Urbana (7-20, 6-15 MEC) used a strong inside presence as well as some clutch plays from its veteran reserves to race out to a 40-25 lead at the half.
UU led by as much as 18 in the second half, but was forced to fend off a strong run from Wheeling that saw the Cardinals get within two points, 69-67, with 19 seconds remaining. The Blue Knights knocked down 3 of 4 at the line and then a putback layup from
Mario Lacy Jr. sealed the win in the final seconds.
Mike Ryan paced the Blue Knights in scoring off the bench with 16 points in 20 minutes of action. Ryan was very efficient when getting the ball as he knocked down five of his seven shots including a 3-pointer. The St. Edward product was also perfect from the charity stripe where he finished 5 for 5.
Urbana would more than double Wheeling in bench points, 31-15.
The Blue Knights tallied 40 points in the paint against just 24 for the Cardinals (14-11, 11-10 MEC), who had secured a spot in the MEC tournament a couple weekends ago.
Lacy and
Shaunn Monroe would score 14 and 13, respectively, while
Tehree Horn chipped in with nine points.
Kyle Kegley grabbed a game-high nine rebounds to go along with five points.
Overall, the Blue Knights were 26 for 55 from the field on the night for a 47-percent mark, but it was the improved ball handling with only seven turnovers that propelled Urbana into a position to never trail at all during the contest.
Wheeling's Jarett Haines led all scorers with 18 points while Emmanuel Ansong and Jordan Reid also reached double digits with 13 and 12, respectively. The Cardinals shot 41 percent overall and made 21 of 28 (75%) attempts at the foul line.
With a win Saturday over Notre Dame and a Frostburg State loss at Fairmont State, the Blue Knights will hold head-to-head tiebreakers over Davis & Elkins and Frostburg State for the final tournament bid.
UP NEXT: Tipoff for Saturday's contest will be at 4 p.m. with Senior Day festivities taking place prior to the game.
