MIDDLETOWN, Conn. – Trailing by as many as 14 in the second half, the Wesleyan men's basketball team managed to trim the deficit down to four with under three minutes left in regulation, but Amherst managed to get the stops on defense and walk out of Silloway Gymnasium with a 70-63 win. Wesleyan (11-8, 2-3 NESCAC) has lost three straight NESCAC games while the Mammoths (13-7, 4-2) have won five straight overall.
 
A lively Cardinal crowd sprung to life late in the second half when Sam Pohlman '26 drove the lane for two and Nicky Johnson '25 followed with a steal and score to make it just a three-point game with 3:34 left. Fritz Hauser '26 later had a chance to make it a two-point deficit with 2:10 left but he missed both free throws and Amherst's Charlie Randall hit a tough floater in the lane as the four-point swing proved vital in the end for the Mammoths. Wesleyan came up empty on their next three possessions and Amherst sealed the win with free throw makes down the stretch.
 
Amherst set the tone from the opening tip, holding Wesleyan scoreless for the opening 3:13 of play and managing to build a 10-3 lead. The Cardinals found their offense with a 6-0 spurt to trail by one, but the first half belonged to Chris Hammond who scored 17 of his game-high 23 points in the opening 20 minutes. Hammond went 7-for-10 from the floor in the first half, hitting 3-of-5 from three, as his hot shooting carried Amherst to a 39-28 halftime lead.
 
While Hammond couldn't miss, the Cardinals couldn't find the three ball as Wesleyan hit just 1-of-12 from three-point range in the first half while committing nine turnovers. Amherst's strong play continued in the second half as the Mammoths led by as many as 14 before the Cardinals started a comeback bid, trailing 54-47 with 10:15 left.
 
Shane Regan '25 did his best, scoring 12 of his team-high 18 points in the second half, but the Mammoths kept answering all the Cardinals could throw at them, ultimately taking the win and at least a share of the Little Three title.
 
Johnson joined Regan in double figures, as the junior point guard finished with 12 points, five rebounds, and four assists. Olu Oladitan '24 tallied five points, six rebounds, two steals, and two blocks in his first career start.
 
Amherst was led by the combination of Hammond (23 points) and Charlie Randall who scored a career-high 20 points to go along with eight rebounds and four assists.
                                                                                                                   
Wesleyan looks to regroup on Saturday when the Cardinals host Hamilton for a 2 PM tip-off as Wesleyan will honor it's two-member senior class (Oladitan and Dylan Ward '24) pre-game.