Men’s basketball was in midseason form in Bristol, RI last Tuesday as the Cardinals drubbed host Roger Williams 62-38. The Cardinal men played stifling defense throughout, limiting Roger Williams to 12 of 58 shooting from the field and just two three-pointers on 22 attempts.

The Cardinals came firing out of the gate, erasing any chance of the crowd swaying the game with an 8-1 scoring run in the first three minutes of play. The men led by 12 at most in the first half, but Roger Williams chipped away at the Wesleyan cushion towards the end of the half. The Cardinals went into the break with just a 25-19 lead, as they were unable to capitalize on their opponent’s shortcomings on offense due to a similarly substandard 9 of 25 shooting performance in the first half.

But Wesleyan came together on offense in the second half while maintaining a smothering defense. Although the hosts cut the lead to four to start the half, the Cardinals pulled away with a 15-2 run that distanced Roger Williams for good. Wesleyan would go on to win by a final of 62-38 due to great efficiency on both sides of the ball. The Cardinals held the home team to just 19 points in the second half and made over half of their shots in the second half, 15 of 29 from the field.

Guard Shasha Brown ’13 led the way for the Cardinals on offense with 16 points and 7 assists. Co-captain Jason Mendell ’12 and Mike Callaghan ’13 also reached double digits in scoring with 11 points apiece. Forward Glen Thomas ’14 was notably effective on the glass, pulling in 12 rebounds in just 17 minutes of play.

This fourth straight win for the Cardinals sends a strong message to the competition, as Wesleyan manhandled a Roger Williams team that came into the game having won five of their six contests. Wesleyan hopes to continue their winning ways with a road meeting at Gordon College on December 9th, before returning home to host the US Merchant Marine Academy on December 11th.