MIDDLETOWN, Conn. – A first half barrage saw the No. 9 ranked Wesleyan men's basketball team jump out to a 32-6 lead, proving more than enough as the Cardinals defeated the Panthers 89-63 on Saturday afternoon from Silloway Gymnasium. Wesleyan (16-0, 2-0 NESCAC) lands their biggest win over Middlebury (8-6, 0-2 NESCAC) since 1987 while remaining one of three teams in the nation (NYU, Gwynedd Mercy) with an undefeated record.
 
The outcome was decided in a blistering 13+ minutes from the opening tip as the Cardinals held Middlebury to just six points and without a made field goal for more than 10 consecutive minutes. As they have done all season, Wesleyan's defense was the catalyst, smothering the Panthers in the halfcourt which led to a 1-for-16 shooting display including 14 consecutive misses from the floor for Middlebury.
 
Taking full advantage on offense, Wesleyan leaned on their backcourt who took advantage of mismatches, driving the lane for continued looks from close range at the rim. The trio of Shane Regan '25, Nicky Johnson '25, and Sam Pohlman '26 combined to score 18 consecutive points for Wesleyan, stretching their early lead to 20-3. The three-point barrage then started with Zach Wolinski '28 connecting before Oscar Edelman '28 canned triples on consecutive trips down the floor, the latter of which made it 32-6 Wesleyan with 6:43 left before half.
 
Middlebury managed to find something before halftime, holding the Cardinals to just three points in a 6+ minute span, cutting the deficit down to 15 points in that frame.
 
The Panthers flipped a switch in the second half, shooting 54.5 percent from the floor (compared to 20.8 percent in the first half), but Wesleyan managed even better on the offensive end as the Cardinals shot over 64 percent on their way to a 52-point half.
 
Regan poured in 14 of his game-high 21 points in the second half alone, shooting 6-for-8 from the field, while Jackson Cormier '26 made all four of his shot attempts to score all nine of his points in the second stanza.
 
The closest Middlebury would get was a 17-point deficit on four occasions in the second half, but the game was put to bed with a 9-0 run late capped by a Ben Lyttle '27 three-pointer.
 
Wesleyan shot 53.8 percent from the floor, their second-best shooting performance of the season, while the Cardinals committed just eight turnovers, marking the third time in the past four games that Wesleyan has totaled less than 10 turnovers.
 
Regan's 21 points saw him shoot 8-for-11 overall and 2-of-3 from three while he added three assists with no turnovers in just 18 minutes. Johnson finished with 12 points, seven assists and four rebounds while Lyttle had 10 points and seven rebounds.
 
A challenging start to the NESCAC slate continues next weekend as the Cardinals hit the road for a weekend set at Hamilton on Friday and at Amherst on Saturday.