MIDDLETOWN, Conn. – Defense and rebounding have been the keys to the success of the Wesleyan men's basketball team all throughout their historic season and both elements were on full display again on Friday night as the Cardinals defeated WPI 66-50 in the Sweet 16 round of the NCAA Tournament in Silloway Gymnasium. Wesleyan (29-1) stays alive in the hunt for a national title and will face Emory in the Elite 8 on Saturday at 7:45 PM in Silloway.
 
Facing a WPI squad that was coming in shooting lights out from behind the three-point line coming into play, Wesleyan's stifling defense held the Engineers to just one three-pointer in the first half and three for the game as WPI shot 3-for-20 (15 percent) from long range. The Engineers had just went 16-for-35 (45.7 percent) in a first round win over Husson and shot 12-for-28 against Ithaca in the second round of NCAA Tournament play last weekend.
 
Rebounding also loomed large in the outcome, as Wesleyan didn't allow an offensive rebound until the second half while the Cardinals were +15 in rebounding margin (26-11) in the first half and finished +21 (46-25) for the game. Wesleyan took advantage with a 21-10 edge in second chance points.
 
In a game that featured two of the Top 10 scoring defenses in the nation heading into play, the script played out just as expected as the two sides combined for 22 points in the opening 10 minutes of play. Leading 14-8 at the midway point, Wesleyan got a three from Oscar Edelman '28 and later had Ben Lyttle '27 with a put back to hand the Cardinals their first double-digit lead at 23-13. The Engineers would only get to within eight of the lead for the remainder of the first half, while Wesleyan's advantage grew to 33-19 at the halftime break.
 
WPI found more success on offense in the second half, shooting 12-for-28 (42.9 percent) from the floor coming out of halftime, but the Engineers couldn't get a three-pointer to fall as the visitors went just 2-for-12 (16.7 percent) from distance after halftime. Wesleyan did enough to weather the storm as WPI scored on three straight possessions to start the second half, but the Cardinals had an answer every time, including a there from Shane Regan '25 and three-point play from Fritz Hauser '26 to keep hold of a 14-point lead.
 
Wesleyan led 44-33 with 12 minutes remaining before Johnson cleaned up his own miss and put home a three-point play, followed by a Lyttle three-pointer that made it 50-33 Cardinals. WPI again cut the deficit down to 12 points but Wesleyan used an 11-3 run capped by a Jackson Cormier '26 dunk that ignited a strong home crowd and made it 61-41 Cardinals with 5:13 remaining.
 
That Cormier dunk put the exclamation point on a convincing victory that saw Wesleyan's defense hold the NEWMAC Player of the Year Aidan Callahan to just three points on 1-of-6 shooting in 37 minutes.
 
Nicky Johnson '25 tied for the team lead with Lyttle as both finished with 12 points. Johnson added six assists and five rebounds with just one turnover. Lyttle grabbed 10 rebounds (five offensive) for a double-double. Cormier totaled 11 points while Edelman scored eight points (all in the first half). Fritz Hauser '26 had seven points, eight rebounds, two steals, and two blocks and Sam Pohlman totaled seven points and five rebounds.
 
Wesleyan will do battle against an Emory team that came back from 12 points down in the first half before holding off Mary Washington late for an 80-78 win. This will be the first-ever meeting between Wesleyan and Emory.