MIDDLETOWN, Conn. – In another classic Little Three contest that featured 16 lead changes, the Wesleyan men's basketball team made the key plays down the stretch when they mattered most to land a 65-60 victory over Amherst on Saturday afternoon from Silloway Gymnasium. The Cardinals (14-4, 4-0 NESCAC) are winners of five straight, improving to 7-0 at home this season, while the Mammoths (11-5, 1-2 NESCAC) drop both games in their NESCAC weekend.
 
An explosive start to this one saw points come fast and furious with Sam Pohlman '26 scoring four straight and then assisting on four straight Wesleyan baskets as the Cardinals led 14-6 six minutes into play.
 
Amherst shot their way back into the game as Marc Garraud came off the bench and was lethal from long range, hitting three straight three-pointers in a span of less than two minutes as his personal 9-0 run sent Amherst into the lead for the first time in the contest.
 
Ben Lyttle '27 broke an extended Wesleyan scoring draught with a corner three as the lead changed hands seven times over the final 8+ minutes of the first half. Lyttle continued to fuel the Cardinal offense, as the junior wing scored a team-leading nine first half points, while Oscar Edelman '28 and Fritz Hauser '26 both made triples before the halftime buzzer. Pohlman continued to make things happen, dishing out nine first half assists, while Garrad drained a fourth first half three-pointer in the final second to send Amherst to a 34-33 halftime lead.
 
Wesleyan opened up a five-point lead within the opening two minutes of the second half, with Wolinski and Edelman hitting from long range on consecutive possessions. Amherst used an 8-0 run to turn a five-point deficit into a three-point lead with 12:47 remaining.
 
In need of a spark, Charlie Moore '27 converted a three-point play, as his floater in traffic hit nothing but net to kick start the Cardinal offense. Incredibly, neither team led by more than two points for almost 10 straight minutes down the stretch of the second half, with the lead changing seven times in that span.
 
Hauser hit a 10-foot jumper to make it 58-55 Wesleyan with 3:03 left and later made a key block on an Elias Chin drive with two minutes left. After Edelman converted a put back to put Wesleyan up 61-56, Chris Hammond answered with a driving layup, followed by Amherst taking their last timeout with 1:18 to play.
 
After getting a stop on the next possession, Amherst had a potential game-tying three-point attempt in the air from Hammond that missed and with Lyttle securing the rebound, the Mammoths were forced to foul.
 
Pohlman stepped to the line and missed the front end of a one-and-one, but it was Lyttle who grabbed a crucial offensive rebound and then alertely took a timeout before Amherst could dive in for a jump ball. Wolinski cashed in with a pair of free throws and after another Chin layup, Wolinski again went 2-for-2 at the line to make it 65-60 with 12.1 seconds left.
 
Amherst coughed the ball up on their last possession as a turnover and Wolinski steal was the final sequence that secured a five-point home win for the Cardinals.
 
With the win, Wesleyan clinched at least a share of the 2025-26 Little Three Championship as the Cardinals went 1-1 against Amherst after already securing the regular season series sweep over Williams. The Mammoths have yet to play the Ephs this season and will require two wins against Williams to earn a share of the Little Three title.
 
Wolinski finished with a game-high 21 points on 6-for-11 shooting and 3-of-6 from three-point range. Pohlman stuffed the stat sheet with eight points, eight rebounds, and a career-high 13 assists. Edelman and Hauser each added 10 points while Lyttle had nine points and a career-high 14 rebounds.
 
Neither team led by more than eight points throughout the entire 40-minute duel as the tempo was played almost entirely from halfcourt sets. Wesleyan attempted a season-low 50 shots in the entire game, while Amherst had just 54 as the two defenses set the tone from the opening tip. Just five total points between the two teams were scored on fast breaks in the second half of play.
 
Up next is the game of the season thus far as Wesleyan plays host to Trinity in a rematch of the 2025 NESCAC Championship game. The two sides also met in the Final Four of the 2025 NCAA Tournament played out in Fort Wayne, Indiana. The Bantams are the reigning NCAA National Champions, 16-0 this season, and ranked No. 1 nationally.