MIDDLETOWN, Conn. – Leading by as many as 27 points in the first half, the Wesleyan men's basketball team held off a second half surge from No. 3 nationally ranked Middlebury, landing a landmark 89-85 victory on Friday night in a packed Silloway Gymnasium. Wesleyan (14-7, 5-2 NESCAC) gets back on the winning track after a pair of close defeats last weekend, while the Panthers (18-3, 6-2 NESCAC) see their eight-game win streak snapped.
 
It was nearly an epic comeback from the visitors as the Panthers trailed 46-19 with 2:17 left in the first half, only to shave the deficit all the way down to just three points at 63-60 midway through the second half. Right in the face of what was a 41-14 Panther run, the Cardinals held their ground and rode a crucial 10-0 run that restored a double-digit lead as three-pointers came from Shane Regan '25, Preston Maccoux '23, and Gabe Ravetz '23 to make it 73-60 Cardinals with 5:37 left.
 
Middlebury kept fighting, closing the gap to six with 2:50 left but again, Ravetz hit a massive three-pointer, his seventh of the night, to answer another Panther rally attempt. Free throws down the stretch for the Cardinals loomed large as Middlebury drained four three-pointers in the final minute but could only get to with a six-point margin as Wesleyan pulled out the 89-85 victory.
 
The combination of Ravetz and Regan was lethal all night for the Cardinals, as each netted a new career-high scoring total. Ravetz went 7-for-10 from three-point range, finishing with 27 points in just 25 minutes, giving him five 20+ point games this season. With the Cardinals needing scoring to keep up with a red shot Middlebury team in the second half, it was Regan who led Wesleyan, scoring 15 of his career-high 17 points in the second half alone. Regan shot 6-for-8 from the floor in the second half (7-for-10 overall).
 
Wesleyan managed to open a massive first half lead on the backs of a tremendous defensive showing, limiting a Panther offense centered around Player of the Year front-runner Alex Sobel who came in leading the NESCAC in scoring, rebounding, field goal percentage, and blocks while he also ranks Top 10 in the league in assists and steals. Sobel started the game missing five of his first six shot attempts from the floor while also committing two turnovers including an offensive foul, as Middlebury was thrown off their game plan in the early going.
 
With Sobel having a hard time getting started, Wesleyan blitzed the Panthers on the other end, grabbing a 10-2 lead that forced a Middlebury timeout. The Cardinal lead hovered around 10 points for the ensuing six minutes, before an onslaught saw Wesleyan score 21 of the next 23 points, building the 46-19 lead. Ravetz started the 21-3 run with 11 unanswered points while Nicky Johnson '25 found Maccoux in transition for a three-pointer that stretched the Cardinals' lead to 46-19.
 
Middlebury found some footing with the final six points scored in the first half, four of which from Sobel, to help build momentum for the second half which was one-sided for the first seven-plus minutes. The Panthers scored 60 points in the second half, hitting 10 three-pointers in the final 20 minutes of play, but were never able to overcome the 27-point deficit late in the first half.
 
Facing the third-ranked Panthers who came in ranked 12^th in the nation in three-point field goal percentage defense (27.7), the Cardinals torched Middlebury from three all night, burying a season-high 13 three's while hitting 65 percent (13-for-20) on their attempts from long range. That 65 percent success rate from deep is a new single-game record for the Cardinals, who last shot over 60 percent from three-point land back in the 2014-15 season.
 
Other key contributors for the Cardinals included Maccoux who finished 3-of-4 from three on his way to 14 points, five rebounds, and six assists. Johnson finished with 10 assists to go along with six points, five rebounds, and two steals while dealing with foul trouble for most of the second half. Jared Langs '25 had 12 points, six rebounds (five offensive), and two blocks.
 
Middlebury was led by Evan Flaks who came off the bench and scored 18 of his 24 points (9-13 FG, 4-5 3FG) in the second half. Noah Osher finished with 21 points (5-12 3FG) and Sam Stevens registered eight points, nine rebounds, and five assists. Sobel finished the day nearly hitting his season averages, as the senior tallied 18 points, 10 rebounds, five assists, three steals, and three blocks.
 
The Cardinals finish the weekend with a big Little Three tilt on Saturday, as Wesleyan welcomes No. 17 Williams to Silloway Gymnasium for the first time since an epic 2022 NESCAC Championship that saw Wesleyan defeat the Ephs 78-75 in overtime.