MEDFORD, Mass. – For the second time in seven days, the No. 19 Wesleyan men's basketball team snapped an extended winning run against a Top 10 ranked NESCAC rival, this time traveling to Cousens Gymnasium and upending No. 9 Tufts in a 68-61 road win. Wesleyan (16-4, 6-0 NESCAC) ascends in the league standings, holding sole possession of first place, while the Jumbos (16-3, 5-1 NESCAC) lose for the first time since November 16 and the first time at home all season.
 
Trailing by as many as 11 points in the first half, the Cardinals leaned on an incredible defensive showing to fight back. Trailing all throughout the second half, Sam Pohlman '26 broke free on a full-court inbounds pass, scoring the go-ahead bucket with 1:38 left in regulation. Free throws then loomed large as Oscar Edelman '28 stepped to the line and made two pressure-packed attempts with the Cardinals leading by just one point and 38 seconds left in a 1-and-1 situation.
 
Tufts had a game-tying three-point shot in the air from Zion Watt hit the rim on the next possession and Zach Wolinski '28 cleaned up the rebound before being fouled immediately. With the Cardinals still shooting 1-and-1, Wolinski followed Edelman's lead and drained both attempts to put the Cardinals up 66-61 with 26 seconds left.
 
An offensive foul from Dylan Reilly on the ensuing Tufts possession gave the ball back to the Cardinals and this time it was Pohlman who iced away the win, hitting two more free throws to account for the 68-61 final.
 
This battle-tested group, coming fresh off a thrilling 64-62 upset win over the defending National Champion Trinity, who came in riding a 32-game win streak, leave Medford with a win for just the second time since 2015. Wesleyan's defense loomed large in the outcome as the Jumbos shot a season-worst 34.8 percent from the floor and went just 7-for-27 from three (25.9 percent) while the 61 points is the Jumbos' second-lowest scoring total on the season.
 
A strong contingent of Wesleyan fans came out to support the red and black who were locked in a back-and-forth barrage of baskets in the early going. The two sides traded scores all throughout the opening six minutes, with Wesleyan holding a 17-15 lead. Pohlman scored the first five Cardinal points while Fritz Hauser '26 and Edelman hit back-to-back three-pointers.
 
The two sides settled in as the first half went along, with Tufts using a 10-0 run to take a 35-24 lead, the largest for any team throughout the contest. Unfazed by the double-digit scoring run, Wesleyan answered back with a 9-1 run of their own to make it just a five-point game at halftime.
 
A hotly contested second half saw Wesleyan keep Tufts within range as the Jumbos' largest lead of the second half was only six points. Even though the Cardinals went more than five minutes scoring just one field goal, Tufts couldn't pull away as Wesleyan put an end to their scoring drought with a Ben Lyttle '27 corner triple with 9:18 remaining.
 
Tufts led 56-50 with 5:07 left before two of the biggest baskets of the game saw Wolinski and Edelman both hit three-point shots from the wing on consecutive possessions that knotted the score at 56-56. Pohlman completed an 8-0 run with a driving layup at the rim to give Wesleyan their first lead of the second half with 3:20 left in the game.
 
The Cardinals continued to hold a slim lead before Dylan Reilly hit a go-ahead triple with 1:42 left, only to see Pohlman break free coming out of a timeout as the senior guard was wide open off a full-court inbounds pass, rising for the go-ahead layup.
 
Wesleyan's defense and clutch free throw shooting finished the job late as Wesleyan completed the comeback in a battle of the last two unbeaten teams in NESCAC play.
 
Pohlman finished with a game-high 19 points, scoring 12 in the first half alone, on 6-for-12 shooting to go along with six rebounds and five assists. Wolinski tallied 12 points and five rebounds, Lyttle scored 11 points with six rebounds, and Edelman had a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds.
 
The Cardinals look to extend a seven-game win streak with the team's final regular season road game, traveling to face Conn. College on Saturday for a 3 PM tip.