WILLIMANTIC, Conn. – The Wesleyan men's basketball team couldn't overcome a sluggish first half as the Cardinals were defeated by the host Eastern Connecticut State, 87-79, in the Eastern Holiday Invitational title game on Saturday afternoon. Wesleyan (8-3) sees their three-game winning streak come to an end against a Warriors team that came into today's game with just two wins on the season.
One night removed from shooting 60 percent and scoring 109 points in a win over St. Joseph's (Maine), Wesleyan struggled mightily in the first half, shooting 32.1 percent (9-28 FG) overall and just 1-of-8 (12.5 percent) from three. The Cardinals also committed nine turnovers in the first half and trailed 33-26 at the break.
The Warriors continued to push in the second half, leading by as many as 17 with 13:07 remaining before the Cardinals mounted their comeback bid. Wesleyan cut the deficit to 10 points on a
Sam Pohlman '26 three-pointer with 8:17 remaining and later whittled the margin down to six points on a
Nicky Johnson '25 three-point play with 2:07 left.
However, ECSU answered back on the next possession with a jumper coming off an offensive rebound and after the Cardinals came up empty on their next trip down the floor, the Warriors finished the game hitting all 10 of their free throw attempts in the final 51 seconds to take the win.
Johnson put in 20 points for the second straight game to lead the Cardinals. He went 8-for-20 from the floor with a team-high seven rebounds, four assists, and three steals.
Jackson Cormier '26 put in 19 points (7-12 FG) one game after going for a career-high 20 last night against the Monks.
Wesleyan's leading scorer
Shane Regan '25, who was coming off a 26-point effort against St. Joseph's, was held to just six field goal attempts on his way to 11 points with six rebounds in 37 minutes. Pohlman went for 10 points (2-5 3FG) in 17 minutes off the bench to give the Cardinals four players in double figures.
The Cardinals are back in action on Tuesday with a Little Three non-conference matchup at Amherst with tip-off set for 7 PM.
