SALISBURY, Md. – Trailing 23-6 seven minutes into the game and staring at a 46-24 deficit late in the first half, the No. 13 ranked Wesleyan men's basketball team dug in and stormed all the way back to defeat No. 10 Roanoke, 84-79, on Saturday night in the Governor's Challenge at the Wicomico County Civic Center. Wesleyan (2-1) bounces back in a big way following last Sunday's OT loss to No. 24 TCNJ while the Maroons (3-1) see their unbeaten run to start the year come to an end.
 
Roanoke bludgeoned the Cardinals from the opening tip, connecting on their first nine shot attempts to build the 23-6 lead just 6:55 into play. After stabilizing play for the next 10 minutes, the Maroons went on a 9-0 run to hold their largest lead of the game at 46-24 with 4:38 left in the half.
 
In need of an answer, the Cardinals netted baskets on their next three shot attempts, including back-to-back makes from Sam Pohlman '26, to answer the Maroons' 9-0 run with a 9-0 run of their own. Zach Wolinski '28 closed out the first half with a three-pointer with seven seconds left to make it a 50-38 game at the halftime break.
 
Roanoke stretched their lead back out to 17 points early in the second half, only to see Wesleyan string together an 11-0 run to make it a six-point game with 15:57 left. Hunter Fleming '27 came off the bench and hit a three-pointer and converted a three-point play in that double-digit point swing.
 
The two sides traded baskets for the next 5+ minutes before Wesleyan went to Wolinski for a layup followed by a three-pointer and another layup that closed the deficit to 74-73. On the next possession, Pohlman drove the lane for a layup that gave the Cardinals their first lead since the opening minute of the game.
 
Pohlman hit a jumper over a minute later to put the Cardinals up by three, but Roanoke tied the score at 77-77 with under a minute left. Pohlman missed a three-point attempt with 49 seconds left but Wolinski grabbed the offensive board and eventually the ball swung to Jackson Cormier '26 who hit the biggest shot of the game, a go-ahead three-pointer to make it 80-77 Wesleyan with 30 seconds left.
 
The Maroons played the foul game late, but Pohlman came through with two clutch makes from the charity stripe to make it 82-79. A last second three-point attempt from Patrick Clevenger hit iron and Cormier grabbed the rebound to secure the win for Wesleyan.
 
The backcourt duo of Wolinski and Pohlman finished with 23 and 22 points, respectively, including 29 combined between the pair in the second half. Wolinski's 23 points are a career-high as he went 3-for-7 from three and 8-of-9 at the free throw line. Pohlman shot 9-of-16 from the floor on his way to a career-high 22-point night to go along with eight assists, six rebounds, and two steals.
 
Fleming gave great production off the bench, scoring his first career 10-point game while shooting 4-for-4 from the floor in 20 minutes. Cormier had 10 points (3-3 FG, 2-2 3FG) in 17 minutes including the go-ahead three in the final minute.
 
Wesleyan faces another tough challenge in Gettysburg on Sunday at 1 PM. The two sides last met in the 2025 NCAA Tournament Second Round with the Cardinals coming out on top 82-60.