MIDDLETOWN, Conn. – Trailing by five with 4:31 left, the Wesleyan men's basketball team used a 9-0 run to retake the lead before holding off Montclair State down the stretch in a 70-67 road win on Wednesday night. Wesleyan improves to 2-0 while the Red Hawks suffer their first defeat of the season, falling to 3-1.
 
After dominating the first half and taking a 46-30 lead into halftime, the Cardinals saw Montclair State hit back with a 11-0 run that tied the score at 49-49 with 13:10 remaining. The two sides went on to trade baskets for the ensuing 7+ minutes, with neither team leading by more than three points in that span, before Christian Cevis hit a runner in the lane that made it 62-57 Red Hawks with 4:31 left.
 
Having scored just 11 points for the first 15+ minutes of the second half, Wesleyan buckled down over the stretch and got some key production from a pair of underclassmen in Ben Lyttle '27 and Zach Wolinski '28. On an offensive rebound following a free throw miss, the ball swung over to Wolinski who hit a three to make it a one-point game. Then on the next trip down the floor, it was Lyttle who found Wolinski for a fast break layup as Wesleyan retook the lead.
 
Lyttle had the assist for a third straight possession, finding Shane Regan '25 this time for a layup underneath following a fast break. Wesleyan's defense continued to make life difficult for Montclair State as Nicky Johnson '25 recorded his fourth steal of the game, before Wolinski was fouled, making 1-of-2 to give Wesleyan a 66-62 advantage with 3:11 left.
 
Right after Montclair State hit a three to make it a one-point game again, Regan converted in the paint on a layup to restore the three-point cushion. Following that possession, however, Montclair State finished the game with four consecutive missed shots, including a game-tying three-point attempt from Mike Jackson with less than one second remaining.
 
Wesleyan managed to fight back from five points down with less than five minutes remaining, overcoming a tough second half wherein the team scored just 24 points, shooting 33 percent (7-for-21) from the floor with 11 turnovers. The Cardinals were at their best in the first half as Johnson poured in 15 of his 17 points in the first half alone while Lyttle added 10 in a 46-point stanza for Wesleyan.
 
The score was tied at 14 apiece before an 8-0 Wesleyan run in a span of just 40 seconds made it 22-14 Cardinals. Johnson stayed hot, hitting in the lane to give the Cardinals their first double-digit lead of the game, 26-16.
 
Montclair State cut the first half deficit down to six points but Wesleyan answered back with six unanswered and would go on to finish the half on a 15-7 run.
 
Four Cardinals hit double figures in scoring including Johnson (17 points, five rebounds, five steals), Lyttle (15 points, seven rebounds, six assists, three steals), Regan (12 points, six rebounds, three assists), and Wolinski (11 points). Fritz Hauser '26 added eight points and seven rebounds while Josh Cameron '27 scored seven points in six minutes off the bench.
 
Wesleyan shot 51.4 percent in the first half and 44.8 percent for the game while the Cardinals attempted 14 more free throws than Montclair State. The Cardinals also held a massive edge in points in the paint (42-24).
 
The Cardinals are in action this weekend with the team's home opener, the Herb Kenny Tournament, on Friday and Saturday from Silloway Gymnasium. Wesleyan opens with Anna Maria on Friday at 5:30 PM and will face either Albertus Magnus or SUNY Delhi on Saturday.