Cards Cruise in WVIAC Tilt Wheeling Jesuit wins first conference game By NICK BEDWAY For The Intelligencer POSTED: December 16, 2008 Scintillating freshman point guard Cedric Harris exploded to score 16 of his game-high 26 points in the first half Monday night, sparking the Wheeling Jesuit University men's basketball team past invading Salem International 104-81. Harris, the former Zanesville High School standout, played sweet string music with the cords to the tune of 10 buckets in 14 attempts at the Alma Grace McDonough Center in Wheeling, as Coach Danny Sancomb's club broke a three-game losing streak. From behind the arc, he swished 6 of 7 shots. ''Cedric shot the ball real well (Monday),'' the pleased Sancomb pointed out. ''He took good shots and protected the basketball for us.'' Along with his radar-like shooting eye, Harris was charged with just one turnover while picking up four assists and four rebounds. ''We knew we got a good player when we recruited him. This is the level we need him to play at if we are going to be successful,'' Sancomb added. Overall, the hosts shot 51.7 percent, finishing 35 of 68 from the field. All 14 Cardinals players in uniform saw court time, with 13 of them breaking into the scoring column. Joe Suchy was the only other Wheeling Jesuit player finishing in double figures as he netted 13 points. With nine each were Derek Wise and Maqsood Harrington. Pete Brogdon, a freshman from Weir High, put the Cardinals at the century mark with 2 minutes remaining as he put a banker high off the glass on a drive to the net. Colt Street, another freshman who played his high school ball at Magnolia, swished a 3-pointer just ahead of the final buzzer to conclude the scoring. ''Most importantly, we needed a win and we got it,'' stressed Sancomb as the Cardinals improved their overall record to 2-5 and squared their West Virginia Intercollegiate Conference mark at 1-1. Wheeling Jesuit led 56-39 at halftime and stretched it to 83-53 with 10 minutes remaining in the foul-marred contest that took just less than 2 hours to complete. ''We fouled too much and that's something we have to work on but everybody got to play,'' Sancomb continued. He expected to see some sluggishness on the defensive end from his team, especially since the Cardinals were unable to practice last week because of exams. ''We sent them to the foul line 44 times and that's way too much,'' Sancomb pointed out. The two teams combined for 47 personal fouls and each coach was charged with a technical during the opening half. Salem held the lead just twice in the early going. Fouled putting up a 3-point shot less than a minute into the game, the Tigers' Ivan Jovicic meshed 2 of 3 from the charity line for a 2-0 advantage. Harris made the first shot he attempted, a triple from the right wing that was countered by a Jovicic runner from behind the arc at the top of the key. Obi Ukwuona's follow shot pulled Wheeling back into a 5-5 tie and Harris drained another bomb from the outside to give the Cardinals the lead to stay. With Harris scoring 13 points during the game's first 10 minutes, Wheeling Jesuit built a 32-20 lead and the hosts never looked back. Salem International, which had only eight players in uniform while waiting for several recruits to become eligible at the start of the second semester, got big scoring games from the duo of Chris Carey and Jovcic. Carey, son of West Virginia University women's basketball coach Mike Carey who was in the crowd watching, led the Tigers with 24 points. Jovicic, a 6-3 freshman from Belgrade, Serbia, ended with 23 points. Wheeling Jesuit, whose hustle under the glass early in the game led to some easy scoring opportunities, finished with a 38-36 rebounding advantage. Ukwuoma pulled down six rebounds to pace the Cardinals' effort. Ricky Dunham speared eight rebounds and tallied 14 points for the Tigers. Emile Payne also contributed 14 points to Salem's offense. Although disappointed Wheeling Jesuit's record currently stands below the .500 mark, Sancomb is hoping his young team will pick things up the second semester.

Cards Cruise in WVC Tilt