The Cardinal men find themselves mired in an especially harsh winter slump, having lost six of their last eight games, including four of five against NESCAC opponents. The recent struggles have undone the effects of an early five-game winning streak, dropping the team to below .500 and into a distant ninth place in the NESCAC.
At the Red and Black Classic at Silloway Gymnasium, Wesleyan soundly defeated St. Joseph’s College 76-47, before falling the next day to Wheaton College in a close 82-77 game. As the Cardinals entered conference play, they faced a stacked schedule featuring NESCAC foes Middlebury, Williams, and Amherst. As of press time, these three teams are ranked fifth, sixth, and ninth in Division III, respectively. While the Cardinals did get a win against conference rival Trinity 64-55, Wesleyan lost four games against the three nationally ranked squads. The closest scoring margin was an eight-point deficit in the 64-56 loss to Middlebury, while the other three losses were each by double digits.
“We had a good game against Trinity where we had a lot of guys step up in different situations to contribute to the win,” said forward Jason Mendell ’12, one of the Cardinal co-captains and the team’s second-leading scorer. “In our last three games, we have been within striking distance of top-10 teams in the second half of the games and just haven’t made the necessary plays to get the wins. It is frustrating to be so close in some of these games and yet come up short, but if it is going to make us better down the stretch then it is worth it.”
The squad had scored in bunches and displayed effective post play prior to this recent cold streak, but sub-par ball movement and poor rebounding have afflicted the team as of late. The Cardinal men have been lacking in assists throughout the season, averaging just 10.4 per game as a team. Additionally, injuries to forwards Dave Maltz ’11 and Glen Thomas ’14 have resulted in a shorthanded and undersized squad that was out-rebounded by a combined margin of 24 in their last three NESCAC losses.
“The rebounding margin has to be dealt with as a whole team problem,” Mendell said. “Because we are missing two of our strongest rebounders, it becomes a rebounding-by-committee situation where all five guys on the court must be accountable. When injuries occur it forces the other guys to step up and do more and you have to look at that as an opportunity rather than a loss.”
The recent downturn has put Wesleyan’s postseason chances in doubt, but the Cardinals remain undeterred and focused on improving their play. Based on the team’s early season success and the talent on the roster, from leading scorer Shasha Brown ’13 to Derick Beresford ’13, who leads the team in field goal percentage with .515, the Cardinals continue to look towards a run in the NESCAC playoffs.
“I don’t think our approach needs to change all that much,” Mendell said. “We just have to keep trusting each other and believing that everyone is working towards the same goal. I think the last few weeks have made us a closer team and that bodes well for us as we approach the playoffs. We have three more weeks to position ourselves as best as possible for the postseason and we remain confident that we can beat any team that we face.”
The Cardinal men face Manhattanville College tonight at Silloway Gymnasium, before heading up to Lewiston to face the Bates Bobcats on Friday, Jan. 28.