WILLIMANTIC, Conn. – In their first game back following a 2+ week break, the No. 23 ranked Wesleyan men's basketball team was defeated in double overtime by Nichols, 86-83, on the opening day for the Eastern Connecticut State Holiday Invitational. The Cardinals (8-3) see their five-game win streak snapped while the Bison (7-4) are winners of six straight.
 
Zach Wolinski '28 led the Cardinals in scoring with 21 points to go along with eight rebounds, putting him in double figures for the 10^th time in 11 game this season. Oscar Edelman '28 matched his career-high in points (19) and set a career-high with 12 rebounds, giving him two double-doubles on the year. Jackson Cormier '26 added 14 points and eight rebounds while Ben Lyttle '27 posted 10 points and 10 rebounds.
 
Neither side could get much going offensively in the first half, with the Bison leading 29-24 at the break. Nichols came out firing to start the second half, using a 13-0 run to build a 42-27 advantage with 16:10 left on the clock.
 
Edelman stopped the scoring run with a basket in the paint before Wolinski connected from long range to stymie the Bison momentum. Nichols still held a 13-point lead with 8:50 left when the Cardinals flipped a switch and used a 16-1 run to take a 56-54 lead with 2:42 remaining. In that stretch, Nichols was held without a field goal for well over six minutes of play while Jaalan Watson '29 kick started the rally with a three-pointer followed by a layup in transition. Cormier converted a three-point play, Watson added two free throws, and Wolinski and Lyttle both hit from long range to account for the scoring in the Cardinal run.
 
The teams traded baskets on the next seven possessions, with the final bucket from Javen Flowers-Smith tying the score at 62-62 with 12 seconds left. Lyttle had an attempt in the air in the closing seconds, but the jumper came up short and the game was sent into overtime.
 
Wesleyan led 70-67 with under one minute left in the first overtime, only to see Dominic Mello connect on a game-tying three-pointer with 39 seconds left. Wolinski missed a go-ahead two-point attempt and the Cardinals held Nichols scoreless on the final possession of the first overtime.
 
The Cardinals scored on their first two possessions of the second overtime, with Sam Pohlman' 26 driving the lane for two and then hit a three-pointer on the next possession. Edelman finished off a feed from Lyttle to keep the five-point lead intact, but Nichols went on a 7-0 run, scoring on three straight trips down the floor to take a 79-77 lead.
 
Turnovers and missed shots followed for the Cardinals, but the team didn't go away quietly as Wolinski hit from long range to make it 82-80 Bison with 32 seconds left. Flowers-Smith went 1-of-2 at the line, opening the door for a game-tying three but Lyttle couldn't connect. Pohlman made a long range attempt to again make it a two-point game with seven seconds left. After Nichols went 1-of-2 at the line, Wesleyan couldn't get a three-point shot up in the closing seconds, as the Bison finished off the double overtime win.
 
Wesleyan closes out the Holiday Invitational at Eastern Connecticut State on Tuesday at Noon with a showdown against Penn College of Technology.