MIDDLETOWN, Conn. – The No. 17 Wesleyan men's basketball trailed No. 12 Tufts by 22 at the half, but went on a second half run to close the deficit to four with just under nine minutes left, only to see Tufts close out a 75-61 win on Saturday night in the Sweet 16 round of the NCAA Tournament in Silloway Gymnasium. The Cardinals (23-7) see their 2025-26 season come to an end in what was the second Sweet 16 trip in team history.
 
It was a first half to forget for Wesleyan who fell victim to a suffocating defensive showing from the Jumbos who controlled all facets in the opening 20 minutes. Wesleyan shot 6-for-25 overall and committed nine turnovers, while Tufts shot 53.6 percent (15-for-28) and saw freshman Ricardo Nieves hit all six of his shot attempts (including three three-pointers) as he put up 19 first half points to lead all scorers.
 
Showing their mettle, Wesleyan turned it around in the second half, with Ben Lyttle '27 scoring eight quick points within the first three minutes of the stanza. Tufts still led by 19 before the Cardinals went on a 14-2 run to make it a seven-point game. Lyttle hit from three to start the run while Fritz Hauser '26 made a deep three from the wing and Zach Wolinski '28 drove the lane for a tough layup to make it 53-46 Tufts with 10:33 left.
 
The Cardinals continued to pressure, getting back-to-back baskets by Oscar Edelman '28 to make it just a four-point game with 8:43 remaining. Tufts then missed a basket and Wolinski pulled up in transition from three for a shot that would've made it a one-point game. That shot, however, hit the front rim and out for a long rebound that Nieves secured then quickly hit Zion Watt with a pass upcourt who dribbled in for an uncontested dunk as a five-point swing flipped momentum.
 
Watt hit a corner three on the next Jumbo possession and then scored again with a step back mid-range jumper. Edelman hit again from three to lower the deficit to six, but that was as close as the Cardinals would get with Tufts pulling away late for a 14-point win.
 
Wesleyan shot 16-for-33 in the second half, hitting five three-pointers, but went to the line just twice and saw Tufts come up with clutch makes down the stretch while the Jumbos committed just two turnovers in the second half and six for the whole game.
 
Lyttle scored 13 of his team-leading 18 points in the second half, finishing 7-for-16 from the floor with eight rebounds and four assists. Wolinski scored 15 points while Sam Pohlman '26 finished with seven points, seven assists, and six rebounds.
 
Nieves had 19 of his game-high 21 points in the first half, adding six rebounds and two steals while playing 38 minutes. Josh Bernstein had a double-double with 17 points and 12 rebounds to go along with four assists (leading the team) and two blocks. Jon Medley had 16 points, five rebounds, and three assists. 2025-26 NESCAC Player of the Year Scott Gyimesi, who hadn't played for the Jumbos since the NESCAC Quarterfinal round, returned to the lineup and had nine points and three assists in 18 minutes off the bench.
 
The Cardinals graduate a five-player senior class – Pohlman, Hauser, Jackson Cormier '26, Alex Justh '26, and Michael Astorino '26 – who helped Wesleyan win 53 games the past two seasons with a trip to the Final Four in 2025 and Sweet 16 in 2026.