Men's Basketball

Shasha Brown '13 is MVP & NESCAC POW, Glen Thomas '14 All-Tournament as Men's Basketball Takes Tip-Off Title Followed by Non-Conference Loss at Williams

Wesleyan broke away from a 48-48 tie with 14:40 to go in the second half by scoring 12 straight points, eight by tournament MVP Shasha Brown '13 (#11, left in photo), for a 60-48 Cardinal lead with 9:35 left and went on for an 80-59 victory over Curry in the title game of the Inn at Middletown Tip-Off Tournament Sat., Nov. 19.  For his efforts over the Cardinals' 2-0 weekend, Brown was rewarded by the NESCAC as co-player of the Week.

Wesleyan extended the margin to 21, 72-51, with 6:25 to go, making it a 24-5 run over a span of 8:15.  Curry got no closer than 18 the rest of the way.  Neither team led by more than four during the opening 10 minutes, but the Colonels pulled away from a 22-21 deficit to take their largest lead of the contest, 27-22, by scoring three consecutive baskets 5:27 before intermission.  Wesleyan narrowed the gap to 35-34 at halftime.  

The teams played even over the next 5:20 with neither team ahead by more than five points before Wesleyan broke the game open.  Brown posted a game-high 22 points, 14 of those in the second half, to go along with a game-high eight assists.  All-tournament team pick Glen Thomas '14 (#23, right in photo) racked up 20 points and a team-leading 12 rebounds for a double-double as the Cardinals enjoyed a 35-26 rebounding margin.  It was his first career double-double.

Up next for the Cardinals was a trip to Williamstown, Mass. to take on Little Three rival Williams in a non-conference matchup Tues., Nov. 22.  Williams never trailed in the contest, jumping ahead 7-0 and never letting the Cardinals get closer than three the rest of the way, that at 7-4.  The Ephs built the margin to as many as 17 midway through the opening period, 31-14, before a Cardinal rally trimmed the gap to seven, 34-27, behind a 13-3 run with Derick Beresford '13 netting 10 of his 15 points in the game over the stretch.  The halftime score was 40-31.  An 11-3 burst by the Ephs early in the second half pushed the difference to 18, 58-40, before the lead maximized at 20, 66-46, with 11:30 remaining.  Again, Wesleyan made a run at its host by scoring 11 in a row, six by Brown who finished with a game-high 25 points, as the gap dwindled to eight, 72-64, with 4:32 left.  But that was as close as the Cardinals would get as the Ephs ended the game on an 11-4 run for the 83-68 final.  The teams will meet again in Middletown Fri., Jan. 13 (how lucky!) in the NESCAC affair.

Wesleyan hits the court again Sat., Nov. 26 when Baruch invades Middletown for a non-conference game.