LEWISTON, Me. – After seeing a double-digit lead slip down to just a one-point advantage with six minutes left, a shorthanded Wesleyan men's basketball team strung together a crucial 8-0 run that carried the No. 23 ranked Cardinals to an 81-72 road win over Bates in both team's NESCAC opener.
Both teams were missing several key contributors on Sunday, with the Cardinals (13-1, 1-0 NESCAC) playing without three of their five leading scorers. Bates (5-4, 0-1 NESCAC) was playing in their first game in nearly a month as they had their last three scheduled contests canceled due to COVID protocols.
In big need of players to step up in larger roles, Wesleyan saw a pair of first years answer the call as
Nicky Johnson '25 and
Jared Langs '25 each had career days. Johnson matched his career-high with 19 points (7-12 FG, 2-4 3FG) while adding a career-high four steals and four assists in 34 minutes. Langs, meanwhile, posting a double-double with 18 points (8-12 FG) and 11 rebounds (both career-highs) in his first career start.
Shackylle Dezonie '23 played 30 turnover-free minutes while adding 14 points, which is just one off his career-high, to go along with six rebounds.
Gabe Ravetz '23 tallied his first career double-double (11 points, 11 rebounds) while adding two assists and two steals.
Preston Maccoux '23 contributed across the board with eight points, six rebounds and three assists in a team-high 36 minutes while
Teddy Lowen '22 added six points and five rebounds coming off the bench.
Feeling the losses of several regular starters, the Cardinals struggled coming out of the gates as Bates held Wesleyan scoreless for the first 4:57 of play, building a 10-2 lead in the process. However, a 7-0 Wesleyan spurt followed the Bobcats' strong initial play as Ravetz found the net on two jump shots in consecutive possessions to jump start the run.
Bates led 15-11 midway through the first half but it was here where Wesleyan strung together 11 unanswered points, with Langs and Lowen combining for the first nine points in the 11-0 run. The two sides drew back level at 26-26 before Wesleyan put up another scoring run, this time a 10-1 spurt that made it 36-27 with 2:25 remaining in the opening half. The Bobcats' Stephon Baxter hit a big three-pointer with 10 seconds left that cut an eight-point deficit down to a 40-35 Cardinal lead at the break.
Wesleyan took their first double-digit lead of the game 2:58 into the second half as Dezonie fed Ravetz for a three-pointer as the Cardinals led 47-37. The visitors led by as many as 12 in the opening few minutes before Bates whittled away, eventually cutting the deficit to just two at 62-60 with 8:28 left.
Facing a home side with momentum and a lineup missing all three of their senior captains, Wesleyan bore down in the waning minutes, starting with a Langs two-pointer in the paint with 5:30 left that made it 66-63 Cardinals. Maccoux followed with a layup on the next Cardinal possession and after Ravetz hit 2-of-2 at the line, Johnson converted a layup to cap a string of four straight trips down the floor with points as Wesleyan answered right back with a 9-0 run.
For the remaining 4+ minutes, Bates would only get to within five points of the lead as Wesleyan strung together key possessions when they needed them most down the stretch to come away with an impressive win in the team's NESCAC opener.
Now sitting at 13-1 on the season, Wesleyan is off to their best start in a season since an undefeated 13-0 campaign all the way back in 1911-12. The Cardinals were previously 12-1 just once before, which was all the way back in the 1912-13 season where Wesleyan finished 14-2.
Next up for the Cardinals is a visit from Trinity (6-3, 0-0 NESCAC) on Friday at 7 PM. Wesleyan is just 1-3 in their last four games against the Bantams but the one win came in their last meeting, an 83-69 triumph in Hartford.
