EWING, N.J. – Very little went wrong for the No. 13 ranked Wesleyan men's basketball team on Friday night as the Cardinals pummeled Johnson & Wales in a 100-38 season-opening win from Packer Hall in the opening round of the Greg Grant Tip-Off Tournament. In a game that saw Wesleyan outscore the Wildcats 45-6 in the second half, the Cardinals advance to the title game where they will face the host TCNJ on Saturday at 5 PM.
Among the many superlatives, including a 63-16 (+47) edge in rebounding for Wesleyan and five Cardinals scoring in double figures, perhaps none were more impressive than the Cardinals scoring 39 unanswered points in the second half. The Wildcats hit a jumper with 21 seconds left in the first half and didn't make another basket until there was 48 seconds left in regulation, going nearly 20 minutes with only two points coming from free throws.
A dominant defensive display saw the Cardinals hold JWU to 24.6 percent shooting for the game and just a 2-for-27 showing (7.4%) in the second half. Wesleyan's offense produced at an elite clip, shooting 56.5 percent from the floor as a team and 13-for-33 (45.5 percent) from long range. The 63 rebounds are the most the Cardinals have put up in a game since 2019.
With a new-look starting lineup, it was the established frontcourt starter
Fritz Hauser '26 who scored eight consecutive points within the opening 3:12 of play, giving the Cardinals an early 10-3 lead. JWU closed the deficit to 18-16 with 12:52 remaining in the half, only to see the Cardinals respond with a 10-0 run which began with eight unanswered points from rookie
Jaalan Watson '29 who showed out in his first career game.
Just past the midway point of the first half, Wesleyan went on a 12-0 run with three-pointers by Hauser and two from
Ben Lyttle '27 to stretch the lead to 43-21. The Cardinals led by as many as 26 points before the buzzer sounded and it was 55-32 Wesleyan at the half.
Watson led all scorers with 13 points in the first half, going 6-for-7 from the floor. Hauser had 11 points before halftime while Lyttle and
Zach Wolinski '28 each had eight. As a team, Wesleyan shot 20-for-33 (60.6 percent) from the floor and 10-for-20 from three in the first half.
The second half saw Wesleyan play a near perfect 20 minute of basketball, outscoring JWU 45-6 and holding the Wildcats without a field goal until the final minute of the contest. A balanced offense saw 12 Cardinals score at least one basket in the second half. The 39-0 run came in a span of 17+ minutes, with Dylan Hooter ending a string of 25 consecutive misses, scoring in the paint with 48 seconds left in the contest.
Watson led all scorers with 16 points (7-10 FG) to go along with eight rebounds in just 16 minutes. Four members of the starting lineup scored 12+ points including Lyttle (12 points, 8 rebounds), Edelman (12 points, 10 rebounds), Hauser (13 points, 6 rebounds), and Wolinski (13 points, 3-3 3FG, 5 assists) while
Sam Pohlman '26 dished out a career-high eight assists with no turnovers.
Ian Plankey '29 totaled eight points and five rebounds in his debut.
The Cardinals shift their focus to Saturday night's title game where they take on the host TCNJ in a battle of two nationally ranked teams.
