AMHERST, Mass. - In an epic clash between Little 3 rivals, it was a first-year in Nicky Johnson '25 who made several clutch plays, scoring nine points in the third overtime period to help lead the No. 23 ranked Wesleyan men's basketball team to a thrilling 94-85 win over Amherst in triple OT on Monday night.
 
Meeting for the 213^th time in the series history, this contest marked the first time multiple overtimes were needed to decide a winner. Three overtimes mark the longest game Wesleyan has played since a 98-93 4OT win over Tufts back on January 29, 2010.
 
Getting off to a positive start, Wesleyan led by as many as 10 in the first half before seeing the Mammoths slowly chip away, trailing by just five at the half before taking a four-point lead with just over two minutes left in regulation. Needing some late-game magic, Sam Peek '22 continued his torrid pace as he hit two at the line before hitting the game-tying jumper with 29 seconds left that sent the game into OT.
 
In the first extra session, points came at a premium as the two sides combined for just 12 total as Preston Maccoux '23 hit 1-of-2 at the line with 19 seconds left that tied the score at 67-67 and after a Garrett Day three-point attempt missed, the game went into double overtime.
 
Amherst had the upper hand in the early stages, building a 72-68 lead and later leading 74-72 with just over a minute left but Gabe Ravetz '23 came up with a huge triple on the next Cardinal possession to give Wesleyan the lead. Michael Schretter responded with a trip to the free throw line where he hit 1-of-2, sending it into a third overtime with the score 75-75.
 
Entering a third extra session in an already very physically-draining contest, the Cardinals dug in and won it with a 19-point frame that saw the Cardinals hit 4-of-5 from three-point range to surge past their archrivals. Johnson got things going with a quick layup to start the third overtime and he again hit in traffic on the next Cardinal trip down the floor to make it 79-75. A Jordan James '22 offensive rebound led to a kickout to Peek who hit from deep as suddenly it was 82-75 Wesleyan just 1:14 into the period. Amherst scored on their next two trips down the floor to cut the margin to three but Johnson hit a huge triple to silence the rally attempt and allow Wesleyan to ride home winners in this Little 3 instant classic.
 
Peek was a monster all night, playing all but five minutes in this one as he scored a career-high 37 points on 14-for-25 shooting while going 5-of-7 from deep. He added 10 rebounds, two assists, two blocks and two steals in what is his first career 30-point game. The 37-point effort is the most points scored by a Cardinal since Austin Hutcherson tallied 37 in a win over Bowdoin on February 9, 2019. Through 13 games, Peek has scored double figures in all but one game while he is on a five-game streak of 20+ points.
 
Ravetz played 46 minutes and went for 14 points with four rebounds and three assists. Johnson scored nine of his 13 points in the third overtime period alone as he added eight rebounds and four assists to his totals. Maccoux was the lone other Cardinal in double figures as he finished with 13 while James tallied five points, 10 rebounds, two assists, three blocks and four steals. Joe DeLollo '22 came off the bench to tally six points and six rebounds in 21 minutes before fouling out.
 
Garrett Day was the engine behind the Amherst offense all night as he went for 32 points (9-26 FG, 4-15 3FG, 10-11 FT). Schretter (13) and Canin Reynolds (10) were the only other Mammoths who reached double figures as Wesleyan held Amherst to just 15.6 percent from three-point range (5-for-32).
 
The start of NESCAC play awaits as the Cardinals ship up to Medford for their first league game of the season at Tufts at 7 PM on Friday.