The Wesleyan men’s basketball team continued their winning streak on Tuesday, defeating Manhattanville on Tuesday, Nov. 6. They have now emerged victorious in seven out of its first eight games, including the last five. Shasha Brown ’13 has been the team’s torchbearer, leading the team in points in six out of the eight contests and becoming the fastest Cardinal to score his 1,000th point, doing so against Framingham State on Nov. 29.
Brown was the catalyst for the latest victory as well, as the Cardinals outlasted host Manhattanville, 72-69. Brown had 21 points to go along with five rebounds and two assists. Brown’s backcourtmate, Derick Beresford ’13, contributed 17 points as the Cards survived a courageous rally by the Manhattanville Valiants, who fell to 2-5.
The game looked to be lopsided early on as Wesleyan led by as many as 16 in the first half. The Valiants hung around, however, and although the Cardinals were up by 15 with less than 11 minutes left, Manhattanville went on a 25-12 run that got them within two points in the last 20 seconds of the game.
Beresford went to the free-throw line to attempt to ice the win, but he missed his first free throw, opening the door for a possible tying or winning basket by Manhattanville. Luckily, Julian Harris ’14 was there for the offensive rebound, giving the Cardinals another chance to seal the deal. For the second time in a week, Brown sank a big free throw in the waning moments, putting Wes up 72-69 and forcing the Valiants into a desperate three-point shot. The attempt to tie the game fell short, however, and the Cardinals escaped with the three-point victory despite allowing Manhattanville to shoot 50 percent from the floor.
Wesleyan will need to improve its defense if it wants to keep this win streak going. Their next chance came Thursday night after the Argus went to press, as the Cardinals hosted Westfield State University in the final home game of the semester.