WILLIMANTIC, Conn. – Returning from a three-week break, the Wesleyan men's basketball team showed no signs of rush, defeating St. Joseph's (Maine) 109-83 on Friday night in the first round of the Eastern Holiday Invitational, hosted by Eastern Connecticut State University. Wesleyan (8-2) advances to the title game where the Cardinals will face the host Warriors on Saturday at 2 PM.
In a game that featured 192 combined points scored on 77 made field goals, the Cardinals' 109 points are tied for the sixth-most scored in a single-game in team history. Wesleyan shot 60 percent from the floor (45-75 FG) and hit 11 three-pointers, both new season-highs. The Cardinals also finished +19 (45-26) in the rebounding battle, grabbing 15 offensive boards while holding a 22-10 edge over the Monks in second chance points.
Four Cardinals scored at least 20 points in the win, including 20 each from
Jared Langs '25 and
Jackson Cormier '26, both representing new career-highs.
Shane Regan '25 led the way for Wesleyan with an ultra-efficient 26-point night, as the junior guard finished 11-for-14 (78.6 percent) from the floor while hitting 4-of-6 from three-point range. Over the last three games, Regan is shooting 77.7 percent (28-36 FG) on his shot attempts and is 69.2 percent (9-13 3FG) from three.
Langs grabbed 12 rebounds (six offensive) for his third double-double of the season. Cormier went 3-of-4 from three and 8-for-11 overall on his way to a career-high 20 points while adding six rebounds and four steals in just 23 minutes.
Nicky Johnson '25 also hit the 20-point mark as he went 8-for-14 from the floor with seven assists, three rebounds, and two steals.
Ben Lyttle '27 came off the bench and finished with 11 points (5-9 FG) and seven rebounds.
Wesleyan hit the ground running with a three from Cormier on the Cardinals' first offensive possession of the game and opened a 18-9 lead after just 5:15 of play following a 7-1 run. St. Joseph's kept the margin within striking distance up until midway through the first half when the Cardinals rattled off a 12-0 run that saw Wesleyan's lead swell to 40-21. That 12-0 run extended as Wesleyan scored on eight consecutive trips down the floor.
Leading 55-40 at halftime, Wesleyan saw their lead shrink down to single digits at 65-56 with 15:46 remaining, but a sudden 11-0 spurt in a span of just over two minutes pushed the Cardinals back out in front by a 20-point margin. Four different Cardinals scored in the 11-0 run as Wesleyan's advantage grew to 99-69 with 5:42 remaining.
Regan scored 15 of his game-high 26 points in the second half while the Cardinals shot almost identical percentages in both the first and second halves. Wesleyan trounced the Monks in fast break points with a 23-2 advantage for the game.
Wesleyan has put up point totals of 96, 98, and now 109 in the past three games and look to string together another productive outing on Saturday in the title game against Eastern Connecticut State at 2 PM from the Geissler Gymnasium.
