AMHERST, Mass. – Behind a sensational 29-point night from Shane Regan '25, the No. 5 ranked Wesleyan men's basketball team earned a 72-60 road win over Amherst on Saturday afternoon to secure the Little Three Championship and improve to 18-0 on the season.
 
In the 105-year history of the Little Three Championship, this Wesleyan team becomes just the seventh (first since 1990-91; second since 1947-48) to sweep both Amherst and Williams in the regular season. This also signals the 17^th Little Three title in team history and first since 2017-18.
 
Unlike the first meeting between the Cardinals and Mammoths that saw Wesleyan jump out to an 18-4 lead less than eight minutes into play back on January 4 in Middletown, Amherst was the better side in the early going on Saturday. Four different Amherst players scored in the opening 4:02 as the Mammoths led 9-4 early.
 
Three-pointers from Nicky Johnson '25 and Oscar Edelman '28 on consecutive possessions stymied the early Amherst run and set the stage for a 5+ minute span wherein neither team led by more than two points. A mini 6-0 spurt for Wesleyan saw the Cardinals take a 22-18 lead nearing the midway point of the half but Amherst held steady and eventually tied the score at 29 apiece following a three from Noah Helmke.
 
That Helmke three-pointer, however, was the last points scored by Amherst of the half as Wesleyan held the Mammoths scoreless over the final 5:53, jumping all over the hosts with 15 unanswered points in that span. Regan and Johnson were the catalysts, scoring all 15 of those points, while the Cardinal defense forced five Amherst turnovers in the 15-0 run.
 
The Amherst scoreless streak continued deep into the second half as the Mammoths got two free throws from Ryker Vance to break a 24-0 Wesleyan run that lasted 11:42 minutes between the first and second halves.
 
With Wesleyan struggling on offense, Amherst made a game of it late, closing the deficit to 57-45 with 9:14 remaining before trailing by just seven at 62-55 with 4:01 left on the clock. But as he did all night, when the Cardinals needed him the most, Regan came through as he dished out to Fritz Hauser '26 whose lone basket on the night was a clutch three-point make that restored a 10-point Wesleyan lead inside three minutes to play.
 
The Cardinals went 7-for-8 from the free throw line down the stretch to secure a 72-60 road win, defeating the Mammoths for the first time in Amherst since the 2021-22 season.
 
Regan was outstanding all afternoon, scoring 17 in the first half and 12 in the second, giving him a season-high 29 points on 10-for-16 shooting and 8-for-9 at the free throw line. Regan hits the 20+ point mark for the fourth straight game, the longest such streak of his career.
 
Johnson joined Regan in double figures with 12 points while Edelman was big off the bench, scoring 12 on 3-for-6 shooting from three-point range.
 
Through 18 games this season, Wesleyan hasn't allowed an opponent to score more than 67 points in a game as the Cardinals held the Mammoths to 39.6 percent shooting with 14 turnovers which led to a massive 31-5 edge in points off turnovers for Wesleyan.
 
The Cardinals shift focus to a huge clash next Saturday as Wesleyan travels to Hartford where a showdown with Trinity awaits. The Bantams are the reigning NESCAC Champions and are coming off a 30-win season that saw Trinity advance to the Final Four.