FARMINGDALE, N.Y. – Locked in a back-and-forth, high-octane affair, the No. 11 ranked Wesleyan men's basketball team saw a 12-point second half lead disappear in a 75-73 defeat at Farmingdale State on Saturday afternoon. The defeat drops the Cardinals to 3-2 on the season while the Rams are now 5-1.
 
Turnovers plagued the Cardinals in this one, with Wesleyan committing a season-high 18 which led to a massive 26-8 advantage for Farmingdale State in points off turnovers in the contest. The loss spoiled a career-high 19-point effort from Oscar Edelman '28 who scored 14 of those points in the second half, as the sophomore forward hit four three-pointers after halftime.
 
In what has turned into an annual meeting between the two sides, this year's version saw both offenses featured early, with Wesleyan leading 8-7 after just 3:46 of play, before the defenses started to assert themselves as just six total points were scored over the next 5+ minutes of play.
 
Neither team led by more than six points throughout the entire first half, with Wesleyan taking a 24-18 lead with 5:29 remaining on an Ian Plankey '29 layup. Balanced scoring for the Cardinals saw eight players score at least one field goal while nine total players scored at least one point in the first half. Farmingdale State saw Liam Buckley score 14 of the Rams' 30 total first half points as Wesleyan held a 32-30 halftime lead.
 
A positive start to the second half saw Wesleyan jump out on a 10-0 run, with Sam Pohlman '26 hitting from deep while Ben Lyttle '27 scored twice to make it 42-30 Cardinals, handing Wesleyan their largest lead of the game with 16:30 remaining.
 
Farmingdale State was quick to respond, getting back-to-back three-pointers from Robbie Siechen and Sean Conroy to cap a 15-2 run of their own, taking a 45-44 lead with 11:59 left.
 
The game then seesawed back-and-forth for the remaining 11+ minutes with the lead changing hands seven times and the score tied four times. Trailing 74-68 with 1:20 left, the Cardinals didn't wilt, getting a three from Edelman to make it a one possession game and Pohlman connected on a layup in transition to make it 75-73 with 16 seconds left.
 
A missed free throw followed by a turnover gave the ball back to Wesleyan with under 10 seconds left. Taking a timeout, Wesleyan drew up a drive for Pohlman who had a shot at a game-tying layup that hit the back rim. With 0.3 seconds left, the Cardinals inbounded from under their own basket with one last chance to tie the score, but Wesleyan couldn't get a shot off and the Rams secured the comeback win.
 
Miscued cost Wesleyan in the end as nine turnovers each in both the first and second half proved costly in the outcome. Edelman's 19 points led the Cardinals while Pohlman scored 12 of his 16 points in the second half while the senior point guard added seven assists and six rebounds. Lyttle had nine points and six rebounds while Fritz Hauser '26 had eight points, seven rebounds, and three steals and Jackson Cormier '26 totaled seven points, eight rebounds, and five steals.
 
After five straight games played away from home to start the season, the Cardinals begin a three-game homestand on Tuesday with a 7 PM tip against Worcester State in Silloway Gym.