The men’s basketball team had a successful run over Thanksgiving break, winning four of their five games in the past two weeks. Highlights of the team’s strong play included its first road win over Emmanuel College on Nov. 21, a tight 74-71 victory over Elms College on Nov. 26, and the championship win at the 29th Annual Harbor Invitational Tournament last weekend.
Through seven games, Wesleyan sits at 5-2 overall, with a 0-1 record in NESCAC play. The Cardinals’ .714 win percentage is good for fifth best in the conference.
Wes traveled to Emmanuel after finishing its first weekend of play as a runner-up in the Herb Kenny Tip-Off Tournament. Harry Rafferty ’17 and Rashid Epps ’16 led the Cardinals with 14 points each against the Saints, while PJ Reed ’17 and BJ Davis ’16 both added 10. Epps also recorded an impressive 17 rebounds, tied for his season high.
The Cardinals jumped out to a 9-2 lead just over three minutes into the game and never looked back. While Emmanuel was able to cut the lead to four in the second half, the Wesleyan defense proved too tough to crack, as the Cards went on a 12-1 run to put the game away, coming out on top 72-61.
“Even though we’re not shooting the ball as well as we’d like to, we’re playing great defense,” said Head Coach Joe Reilly. “I think it was really our defense that got us going in [the Emmanuel] game.”
After beating the Saints, Wesleyan traveled to Williams for its first NESCAC match-up of the year. Although the Cardinals trailed by only four points at half, the Ephs went on a 21-8 run to start the second half, and Williams ended up winning 91-74.
Glen Thomas ’14 played strongly in the loss, scoring 16 points on eight-of-eight shooting, and Rafferty scored a team-high 19 points. Epps also put up 14 points and 10 boards, which was good for his third double-double in four games.
The Cardinals squared off next against Elms College in their third straight road game, where their strong defense continued. Davis had a career game against the Blazers, putting up a game-high 21 points on an impressive 6-7 shooting, including 3-4 from beyond the arc. Bryan Galvin ’15 added 13 points with three treys, while Epps recorded his fourth double-double of the season with a 10-point, 11-rebound performance.
Epps currently leads the NESCAC in rebounds per game with 11.6, which is a full board ahead of the next-best rebounder. The junior is currently the second-highest scorer for Wesleyan with 13.4 points per game, trailing only Rafferty’s 14.0. Coach Reilly not only praised Epps’ work ethic, but also his ability to stay consistent.
“Rashid does everything in life one way; with one hundred percent,” Reilly said. “He is fully committed and plays extremely hard every single possession. He’s just a winner, and it’s great to have someone that does things the right way.”
Last weekend, Wesleyan traveled to UMass Boston to compete in the Harbor Invitational Tournament. The tournament field included College of St. Joseph’s, UMass Boston, and Emerson College.
The Cardinals played Emerson in the first game of the tournament, winning easily 74-59. Epps came out with perhaps his best performance of the season, scoring 17 points on 7-11 shooting from the field while recording 14 rebounds.
The win propelled Wes into the finals, where the Cards faced off against tournament hosts UMass Boston. The two teams began the game going blow-for-blow, and they were tied at 14 after the first six minutes. However, after Rafferty hit a three pointer to break the tie, the Cards surged ahead to a 47-31 lead at halftime. After a strong second half of play, Wesleyan captured the tournament title with a 75-64 win.
Both Epps and Davis received all-tournament honors, and Epps was also named the tournament MVP, averaging 13.5 points and 12.5 rebounds per game in the tourney.
Wesleyan has received scoring help from many different players this season, as the team’s depth has helped it come with a different look in every game so far. Reilly talked about his team’s unselfishness, as well as the members’ ability to play with many different personalities.
“I think we even have some guys who haven’t contributed yet who are capable of doing so,” Reilly said. “We have a situation where we have a lot of competition at every position, so I’m excited about the potential for growth that we have.”
After Wesleyan’s home game on Thursday against Westfield State University, the team will not play another contest until Dec. 30. While the 25-day layoff will provide some rest for the players, it will also prove to be a challenge. Reilly said that because of the way the schedule falls this year, the break was the longest possible amount of time off that his team could have.
“Other teams that we compete against are dealing with the same thing,” Reilly said. “So our goal is to have an edge over those teams, and that’ll mean our guys working hard individually over the next couple of weeks. If you’re motivated and you’re mentally tough, you can have a lot of growth in this period.”