NEW LONDON, Conn. – It was too little too late for the Wesleyan men's basketball team who suffered a 64-57 defeat on Sunday at the hands of Connecticut College from Luce Field House. Wesleyan (10-5, 2-1 NESCAC) sees their two-game win streak come to an end while the Camels (12-4, 3-1 NESCAC) rebound following a Friday night defeat at Trinity.
 
The Cardinals were in an early hole, scoring just 21 first half points and trailing by as many as 14 early in the second half, but Wesleyan rallied late and eventually cut the deficit to just one point with 1:13 remaining on a Nicky Johnson '25 three-pointer. On the ensuing possession, the Camels got a basket from Elias Espinosa late in the shot clock to go back up by three. Wesleyan called timeout and as Jackson Cormier '26 drove the lane, his pass back out to the three-point line was intercepted by Ben Rice who made both free throws to put Conn. ahead by five. The Cardinals missed on their next possession and after two more Camel free throws, Conn. held off the rally bid.
 
For Wesleyan, the Conn. zone defense caused problems all afternoon as the Cardinals shot just 38.6 percent. After going 0-for-8 from distance in the first half, the three-point shot began to fall in the second half, with Wesleyan shooting 7-for-10 (70 percent) from distance. But even with the three's starting to drop, the Cardinals went just 3-for-9 (33.3 percent) from the free throw line in the second half and only made six field goals from two-point range.
 
It was a back-and-forth start to the game with Wesleyan trailing by just three with 2:25 left in the first half, but Conn. rode a crucial 7-0 run for the remainder of play before halftime, stretching their lead to 31-21 as Bill Whelan hit a triple with just two seconds left to give the Camels the 10-point advantage at the break.
 
That run continued in the second half as the Camels led 37-23 with 17:41 remaining. The lead remained in double figures at 45-35 before Wesleyan found some offense with three's coming from Fritz Hauser '26, Josh Cameron '27, and Shane Regan '25. Regan hit another three with 4:07 left to make it 52-49 and Camerson converted a three-point play to push the deficit down to 54-52 with 2:03 left.
 
Free throws, however, loomed large in the final minutes as Conn. went 8-for-8 from the line in the final 1:52 to claim the win.
 
Regan pumped in a game-high 20 points while adding seven assists with no turnovers in 39 minutes. Cameron scored all 10 of his points in the second half, adding four rebounds and three steals in just 23 minutes.
 
Cam Schainfeld scored 16 points for the Camels while David Murray added 16 points with nine rebounds, four blocks, and two assists.
 
Wesleyan looks to rebound with another trip to New London on Thursday when the Cardinals travel to face Mitchell for a 6 PM tip-off.