MIDDLETOWN, Conn. – The Wesleyan University men's basketball team rallied in the second half of Tuesday night's game as the Cardinals defeated Union College in non-conference action at Silloway Gymnasium, 82-61.

Jordan James dropped 25 points on 9-of-11 shooting for Wesleyan as the home team outscored the Dutchmen 53-33 in the final 20 minutes of play. With the win, the Cardinals improve to 13-5 overall while Union drops to 10-6.

FIRST HALF HIGHLIGHTS:

• The first 20 minutes featured competitive back-and-forth action with neither team able to pull away.
• The largest lead by either team was a five-point advantage by Union at the 12:42 mark following a 3-pointer by Mike Manley.
• Wesleyan answered, however, with an 8-0 run capped off by a jumper from Antone Walker with 9:27 remaining in the half to put the home team ahead 20-17.
• Later in the half, trailing by three, the Cardinals went on another run as a 3-point play by James put Wesleyan up 29-26.
• Brian Noone cut the deficit to one with 30 seconds remaining and Wesleyan came up short on its last possession as it lead 29-28 at the break.

SECOND HALF HIGHLIGHTS:

• Gabe Ravetz got hot from behind-the-arc in the second half to help Wesleyan pull away.
• The Cardinals went on a 7-0 run in the opening minutes, capped off by a trey from Ravetz, to lead 38-31 with 16:51 to go.
• Union wouldn't back down and answered with five unanswered including a 3-pointer from Andrew Laub.
• However, shortly after, Wesleyan went on a 10-3 run as Ravetz hit one from downtown to give the home team its first double-digit lead at the 10:51 mark to go ahead 55-44.
• A layup by Noone with 8:14 remaining cut the deficit to eight but once again, Ravetz answered with a 3-pointer and the Cardinals would lead by double-digits the rest of the way.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS:

• Ravetz went 4-of-5 from 3-point range in the second half and finished with 15 points on 5-of-7 shooting from deep. James dropped 25 and grabbed eight rebounds, Sam Peek finished with a double-double as he scored 12 points and pulled in game-high 12 boards, Walker dropped 16, and Shackylle Dezonie secured 11 rebounds. Walker also led all players in assists (4) and steals (3).
• Noone dropped a team-high 14 points and Jackson Mannix added 10. Mike Concannon led the team with five rebounds, three assists, and two steals.
• Wesleyan held a commanding 51-29 edge in rebounding and outscored the Dutchmen 38-18 in the paint.

UP NEXT:

• Wesleyan is back in action on Friday, January 31st as the Cardinals head to Amherst, Mass. to face Little Three rival and Amherst at 7 p.m.