WILLIMANTIC, Conn. – The Wesleyan men's basketball team dominated in all facets on Tuesday afternoon, cruising past Penn College of Technology in a 99-44 win in the Eastern Connecticut State Holiday Invitational consolation game. The Cardinals improve to 9-3 with the win and the Wildcats fall to 1-11.
Nine Cardinals scored at least six points in a balanced attack that saw Wesleyan shoot 62.5 percent from the floor in the first half, going 25-for-40 overall and 7-of-14 from three-point range. Leading 59-23 at halftime, the Cardinals cruised to a 55-point win to rebound following a double overtime loss to Nichols in the Holiday Invitational opener on Monday.
Oscar Edelman '28 led the Cardinals in scoring with 18 points on 7-for-13 shooting in 15 minutes.
Zach Wolinski '28 finished with 13 points (5-6 FG, 2-3 3FG),
Sam Pohlman '26 scored 11 points (5-9 FG) and dished out four assists while
Charlie Moore '27 had his first double-digit point total as a Cardinal, scoring 10 points to go along with seven rebounds.
The remaining contingent scoring 6+ for Wesleyan included
Alex Justh '26 (eight points),
Hunter Fleming '27 (eight points),
Ian Plankey '29 (seven points, 13 rebounds),
Ben Lyttle '27 (six points), and
Jaalan Watson '29 (six points, three assists).
Edelman scored all 18 of his points in the first half, as the sophomore forward went 7-for-10 shooting, while Wolinski scored 12 points. The tandem combined for 30 of the Cardinals' 59 points in the first half. Wesleyan scored six unanswered points to open the game and netted a basket on five straight trips down the floor from the opening tip. The Cardinals' lead stretched to 20 points with 7:30 left in the first half on a Wolinski three-pointer. Wesleyan put the game away with a 17-0 run in the later stages of the first half, as the Wesleyan defense held the Wildcats to one made basket over the final 8+ minutes before halftime. Edelman scored 12 unanswered points in that 17-0 run.
Seven straight points from Pohlman to start the second half saw the Cardinals take a 42-point lead within the first four minutes of play. The bench emptied as the half played out, with the Cardinal reserves combining for 31 of the team's 40 total points after halftime.
As a team, Wesleyan finished shooting 51.3 percent (39-for-76) in the contest, grabbed 54 rebounds to finish +24 in rebounding margin, outscored Penn College 38-6 in points in the paint, and 26-8 in points off turnovers.
The Cardinals head into the New Year and ring in 2026 with a Sunday afternoon tilt at Amherst in a non-league Little Three contest.
