WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. – The Wesleyan men's basketball team put on a defensive clinic on Saturday night, holding Williams to their lowest point total at home in 44 years, as the Cardinals scored a 57-45 victory in Chandler Gymnasium. Wesleyan is 9-0 for the first time since the 2017-18 season while the Ephs see a three-game win streak snapped, falling to 6-2 on the year.
 
In a stellar 40-minute performance from a Wesleyan squad that was playing in its third road game in a span of 96 hours, the Cardinals limited the Ephs to 27.8 percent shooting from the floor and 23.8 percent on their three-point attempts. Williams scored just 14 points in the first half and finished with their lowest point total in a single-game since a 66-43 loss at Wesleyan on January 13, 2012. This also signaled the fewest points in a home game for Williams since a 49-44 defeat to Amherst all the way back in 1980.
 
In a game dominated by the two defenses, the first three minutes saw Wesleyan score 10 quick points, eight of which came off the hands of Jackson Cormier '26. The junior guard opened with a floater on the first possession of the game and late drained back-to-back three-pointers to make it 10-4 Wesleyan just 2:57 into play.
 
Just two combined baskets were made over the next 7:38 minutes of play as both sides played some lockdown defense. Cormier converted a drive to the rim with 6:03 left in the half to give Wesleyan their first double-digit lead.
 
Leading 20-11, the Cardinals put their foot on the gas in the closing minutes of the half, scoring nine unanswered points to open a 29-11 lead on the hosts. Alex Lee hit a buzzer-beating three-pointer to make it 29-14 at the half.
 
Using that Lee three as momentum, Williams continued a run of their own, ultimately cutting the deficit to 29-20 with 17:52 remaining. The Ephs made it 32-25 Cardinals on another Lee triple, but that was as close as Williams would get to Wesleyan's total in the remainder of the game.
 
Shane Regan '25 stymied the Ephs run with a layup and the Cardinals utilized an 8-0 run, capped by another Cormier three-pointer, to give Wesleyan the 44-27 lead with 9:56 left. That eight-point swing proved more than enough in the end as the Cardinals led by double-digits for the remainder of play before closing out a 12-point road win over their Little Three rivals.
 
Cormier led all scorers with 15 points, scoring 12 in the first half alone, as the junior guard shot 6-of-10 overall and 3-for-4 from long range. He added seven rebounds, three assists, and two blocks to his totals.
 
Johnson finished with 13 points, five rebounds and three assists while Oscar Edelman '28 came off the bench to score eight points in nine minutes. Sam Pohlman '26 scored all seven of his points in the second half. Josh Cameron '27 grabbed 11 rebounds in 19 minutes off the bench.
 
Wesleyan enjoys nearly two weeks without a game as the Cardinals are back in action on Thursday, December 19 at Noon with a neutral site matchup against Wentworth from Miami Gardens, Florida.