MIAMI SHORES, Fla. – The Wesleyan men's basketball team went on a 26-12 run in the final 11 minutes Tuesday night to overcome a halftime deficit and defeat Alvernia, 76-67 in the Hoopsmia Shootout Tournament at Barry University.

Antone Walker led the way with 23 points on 4-of-9 shooting was the Caridnals improved to 6-2. Justin Thomas dropped 26 points and grabbed 12 rebounds for the Golden Wolves as they dropped to 5-5.

FIRST HALF HIGHLIGHTS:

• Wesleyan came out hot to start the game with a 6-0 run capped off by a layup from Sam Peek.
• Shortly after, Alvernia went on an 11-0 run in less than three minutes to go ahead 16-13 at the 12:17 mark.
• The Golden Wolves held a lead the rest of the half and closed out the first by scoring 10 of the final 15 points to lead 36-28 at the break.

SECOND HALF HIGHLIGHTS:

• Similar to the first half, the Cardinals came out strong and scored the first six points before extending the run to 10-2 as a layup from Jordan James evened the game at 38-38 with 17:01 to play.
• After some back and forth action, Wesleyan eventually regained the lead with a dunk from James at the 9:57 mark. A 3-pointer by Preston Maccoux just 32 seconds later capped off a 9-0 Cardinal run.
• After a trey from Thomas, Wesleyan responded with six unanswered points to go ahead 65-58 with 6:07 left on the clock.
• The Cardinals continued to extend their lead down the stretch en route to the 11-point victory.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS:

• Walker was joined in double figures by James with 13, and Maccoux and Peek with 12 each. Peek added 13 rebounds for the double-double while Walker and James led the way with three assists each.
• Steve Pierce and Keon Taylor scored 16 and 13 points, respectively, and Taylor led all players with five assists.
• The Cardinals held a 48-34 edge in rebounding and outscored the Golden Wolves 36-16 in the paint.

UP NEXT:

• Wesleyan is back in action tomorrow and will play Gwynedd Mercy at 6 p.m.