WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. – Trailing by as many as 20 points in the second half, the Wesleyan men's basketball team hung in and managed to make it a six-point game with 3:43 remaining, but the Ephs came up with some timely baskets down the stretch to earn a 76-65 win over the Cardinals on Saturday afternoon. Wesleyan (12-10, 3-5 NESCAC) remains winless on the road in league play this season while the Ephs (18-5, 8-1 NESCAC) are now 10-0 at home and sit atop the league standings heading into the final week of the regular season.
Wesleyan came out swinging to start the proceedings, getting a three-pointer from
Fritz Hauser '26 on the opening possession followed by three-point makes from
Nicky Johnson '25 and
Shane Regan '25 all within the first three minutes of play. It was later all squared at 19-19 before Williams' Dan Lee hit from distance to start a 9-0 run that ultimately became a 24-8 Ephs run to close the first half, giving the hosts a 43-27 lead at the break.
The Cardinals shot just 9-for-27 (33.3 percent) from the floor in the first half while Williams outrebounded Wesleyan 21-14 in the opening 20 minutes.
Williams scored four more points to start the second half, taking their biggest lead of the game at 47-27 with 18:56 remaining, before Wesleyan countered with furious 13-2 run in a span of just 2:28 to cut the margin to single digits again. The three-pointer was falling in that Cardinal run as Hauser,
Jackson Cormier '26, and Johnson all hit from distance.
The Ephs' advantage hovered around 10 points for the ensuing 10+ minutes before Hauser canned back-to-back three-pointers to make it 68-62 Williams with 3:43 remaining. The two sides traded baskets but Alex Lee made it an eight-point game in favor of Williams with under two minutes left.
Hauser and Johnson both missed from three on the next Wesleyan possession and even though Williams came up empty on their next trip down the floor, the Cardinals didn't make a basket in the final 2:57 of play, as Williams came away with the 11-point win.
Johnson led the Cardinals with 18 points to go along with six rebounds and five assists but he struggled from the floor, going just 4-for-16 shooting. Regan added 15 points with seven assists and four rebounds. Hauser hit four three's on his way to 14 points.
Nine Ephs scored at least five points in a balanced attack that won Williams the game. Nate Karren led the way with 16 points (3-4 3FG) while Brandon Roughley had 13 points and seven rebounds in 26 minutes off the bench.
Wesleyan looks to make a final push for NESCAC Tournament play next weekend with trips to Tufts on Friday and Bates on Saturday to close out the regular season.
