MIDDLETOWN, Conn. – The top-seed and No. 1 ranked Wesleyan men's basketball team prevailed in double overtime on Saturday, defeating four-seed Hamilton 82-77 in an instant classic NESCAC semifinal contest. The Cardinals (26-0) advance to the NESCAC Championship game where they will play host to the two-seed Trinity at Noon on Sunday.
Trailing by as many as seven points late in the first half and by nine with 14:33 left in the second half, the Cardinals dug in and went on a 19-6 run over the next 9+ minutes of play to take a 54-50 lead with 4:59 left in regulation.
Sam Pohlman '26 ignited the run with a fast break layup and jumper in the paint following an offensive rebound.
Jackson Cormier '26 then scored five straight points for Wesleyan to cut the deficit down to one.
The ensuing 4+ minutes of play saw just one basket scored and it was a significant one as
Shane Regan '25 shouldered contact in the lane and converted a three-point play that made it 52-50 Wesleyan.
Nicky Johnson '25 produced a steal and score then dished off to
Josh Cameron '27 for a pair of baskets as the Cardinals led 56-52 with 4:17 left in regulation.
Down the stretch, Hamilton got a big three-pointer from Matthew Rideout and then Teja Singh tied the score at 57 apiece on a floater with 1:30 left. Regan followed with a turnaround floater of his own to restore Wesleyan's lead but Jalen Reese hit both of his pressure-packed free throw attempts as the score was deadlocked at 59-50 with 42 seconds left.
Needing a score, it was
Oscar Edelman '28 who dished to a cutting Cormier who then hit an eight-foot floater to give Wesleyan a two-point lead. Hamilton called timeout and set up a play for the NESCAC's leading scorer Hank Morgan who took Cameron on one-on-one at the top. Morgan drove left, pulled up from 10 feet and hit a clutch jumper to send the game into overtime.
The extra session started with a huge sequence as Regan was fouled by Morgan on his drive to the rim. That foul was Morgan's fifth of the game as the Continentals' go-to scorer fouled out with 21 points, seven assists, and five rebounds in 38 minutes of action. Even with that adversity, Hamilton showed no quit Rideout hit another big triple to put the Continentals ahead 66-65, only to see Edelman answer back with a massive triple on the next Wesleyan possession.
Needing a bucket, Singh pulled up from just inside the paint and hit to make it 68-68 heading into the final minute of overtime. Johnson had a three-point attempt miss before Singh hit rim on a drive to the rim and the Cardinals had a chance to win it at the buzzer but Johnson's drive rimmed out and the game was sent to a second overtime.
Wesleyan won the opening tip once again and Johnson got one to fall this time to put Wesleyan ahead. Regan followed with a pair of free throws and later converted twice at the rim, once on a fast break and the second after a great cut and pass from Edelman to make it 76-70 Wesleyan with 1:34 left.
The clock began to be a factor as Cameron grabbed an offensive rebound, his sixth of the game, following a Regan miss as the clock wound under a minute to play. Free throws loomed large down the stretch and Wesleyan did enough from the line to finish off a captivating 82-77 win over Hamilton to secure their spot in the NESCAC title game.
Regan, the reigning NESCAC Player of the Week who had just set a playoff career-high in the quarterfinal win over Amherst, matched that total on Saturday with 27 points in 46 minutes. Cormier finished with 15 points and 10 rebounds for his third career double-double, all coming in the past six games. Johnson tallied 14 points with seven rebounds and five assists. Edelman had eight points and two blocks in 20 minutes off the bench while Cameron finished with a career-high 13 rebounds to go along with six points.
Wesleyan shot just 40 percent overall and 26.3 percent from three but benefitted from 17 offensive rebounds while winning the turnover battle 12-8. In the two overtimes, Wesleyan was 5-for-11 from the floor (45.5 percent) and 10-for-14 from the free throw line.
Awaiting the Cardinals in the title game is Trinity as the two in-state rivals will meet in the NESCAC Tournament for the third time in the past four seasons. This is Wesleyan's fourth all-time appearance in the NESCAC Championship game, having won the title in 2022 and 2015. The regular season meeting between the two sides was a 72-63 Wesleyan win in Hartford as the Cardinals scored 47 second half points, shooting 60.9 percent after halftime.
