MIDDLETOWN, Conn. – In a game that came down to the final possession, Preston Maccoux's fallaway jumper at the final buzzer hit the front rim and caromed away, leaving the Wesleyan men's basketball team on the losing end of a 59-58 decision at the hands of RPI on Saturday night in Silloway Gymnasium. The Engineers (23-5) advance to the program's first Sweet 16 appearance while the Cardinals (25-4) conclude a record-breaking season in a thrilling NCAA Second Round matchup.
 
Neither side led by more than eight points all game while a majority of the contest was spent with either side leading by a single possession. Heading down to the final two minutes, Sam Peek '22 had just hit a stepback jumper to make it 57-55 Enginners but on the ensuing possession, in the face of a ravenous home crowd, RPI's Will Rubin drove the lane and hit a floater to build back a four-point lead.
 
As the clock wound down under 20 seconds with RPI still leading 59-55, Nicky Johnson '25 found a floater of his own to cut the Engineer lead to 59-57. After a timeout, Johnson came up with a huge steal off a Rubin inbounds pass with the ball landing in the hands of Shackylle Dezonie '23 who drove close but was denied at the rim by Jonny Angbazo.
 
With just over five seconds left, the ball was inbounded to Peek who was immediately fouled. Needing both free throws to tie the score, Peek hit the first but missed the second. With a rebound up for grabs, Maccoux '23 rose up and deflected the ball off an Engineer out of bounds to give the Cardinals the ball back down by one.
 
Playing without any timeouts, the ball was inbounded and came back to Maccoux who dribbled to his right and lofted a shot that came ever so close to falling in. The last-second miss was met with pure joy by the RPI bench and traveling supporters as the Engineers celebrated advancing to the Sweet 16 following wins over Nichols and the host Cardinals this weekend.
 
Points were at a premium all night as the nation's top defensive team in RPI played to their strengths and limited the Cardinals all evening to the tone of 15 turnovers and a 6-for-22 showing from three-point range. Nearly a third of Wesleyan's points came off second chance opportunities as the Cardinals used a +12 rebounding advantage (36-24) including a seismic 14-2 (+12) edge in offensive rebounds to outscore the Engineers 19-0 in second chance points.
 
It was a positive start for the visitors as RPI's smothering defense shined while points came in a flurry as made buckets on three straight possessions opened a 16-10 lead in the early going for the Engineers. Gabe Ravetz '23, however, caught fire for a brief period as he pulled up from NBA range and hit nothing but net on two straight possessions to tie the score at 16.
 
As they did all night, however, RPI continued to have an answer as the Engineers scored six unanswered which turned into a 9-2 run to make it 25-18 RPI. The Engineer lead grew to eight late in the stanza but an 8-2 Wesleyan run, highlighted by three-pointers from Peek and Johnson in the final minute, made it just a two-point deficit at 34-32 RPI at the halftime break.
 
That late momentum carried over into the second half as a 7-0 spurt in a span of just 1:31 gave Wesleyan a 39-36 lead, capped by a Peek steal and look-ahead pass to Johnson for an easy two points on the fast break.
 
Wesleyan later stretched their advantage to six points at 45-39, the largest Cardinal lead of the game, with 13:33 remaining but a near-seven minute scoring draught for Wesleyan allowed RPI to retake a six-point lead at 51-45 as the Engineers rattled off a crucial 12-0 run.
 
Ravetz broke the scoreless streak with a three from the wing that reenergized the home crowd and set the stage for an incredibly tense final five minutes of play in a game that came down to the final shot attempt.
 
The NESCAC Player of the Year Peek led all scorers with a game-high 19 points (8-14 FG) while he added five rebounds, two assists and two blocks but he was victimized with six turnovers against a stingy RPI defense. Ravetz poured in 13 points off the bench while Johnson finished with 11. Jordan James '22 chipped in seven points, 10 rebounds (six offensive), three assists and three blocks while Maccoux finished with eight points and seven rebounds.
 
Rubin led RPI with 18 points (6-11 FG), five rebounds and four assists as the Engineers' starting combined to play 186 of a possible 200 minutes in this one. Mason Memmelaar tallied 15 points while Dom Black finished with nine points and nine assists.
 
Wesleyan concludes an incredible 2021-22 season that goes down as the best in the program's 100+ year history. This group of Cardinals put together the winningest season in program history, won the NESCAC Championship on their home floor, had the program's first-ever NESCAC Player of the Year as well as Coach of the Year honorees and made it to the NCAA Tournament for the fourth time and second-ever as hosts of a regional round play.