Shannon Welch/Staff Photographer
With a three-game win streak on the line, the men’s basketball team came away with another victory on Tuesday night at home against Eastern Connecticut State, 68-62. After a four-point play from Jack Mackey ’16 broke a 60-60 tie with just over a minute left, the Cardinals didn’t look back in their final non-league game of the regular season.
Wesleyan now holds a 10-10 overall record, as the win put the team back at the .500 mark for the first time since Jan. 10. The Cardinals are also at an even 3-3 in NESCAC play, which makes them tied for fourth in the conference. Coming into the matchup, Eastern Conn held an impressive 15-4 record overall.
The game was tight right from the tip-off, as neither team held more than a seven-point lead at any point during the contest. Point guard Harry Rafferty ’17 scored the first 7 points of the game for the Cards before an 11-5 run pushed Wesleyan to an 18-14 lead with just over 10 minutes remaining in the first half.
However, Eastern Conn responded strongly during the second part of the first half, going on an 18-5 run to lead 30-23 with just over two minutes left. Though the Cardinals had a chance to tie the game on their last possession of the half, they could not convert on an isolation play, as Eastern Conn led 32-29 going into the break.
“In the second half, we definitely made some adjustments,” Rafferty said. “Coach gave us some words at halftime, and we did what we had to do to win. The main adjustment was that we went to a 2-3 zone in the second half in order to negate [Eastern Conn’s] ability to take us one-on-one.”
Though the Warriors shot 52 percent from the field in the first half, Wesleyan’s second-half zone defense seemed to slow down Eastern Conn’s ability to penetrate the lanes; their shooting percentage fell to just 37 percent in the second half.
The two sides exchanged leads seven times in the game’s tightly contested second half. During one 15-minute stretch, neither team held more than a three-point lead until Mackey hit what proved to be the game winner with 1:05 left in regulation.
With the game tied at 60 apiece, BJ Davis ’16 drove to the right elbow before kicking the ball out to Mackey beyond the three-point line. Mackey was knocked over after the shot, and a foul was called as the basket went down for a four-point play opportunity. Mackey hit the free throw to put Wesleyan up by four, and the Cards never looked back, hitting four of their next five foul shots to put the game away.
“Anyone who knows [Mackey] knows that he’s one of the most likable guys there is,” Rafferty said. “He’s had to work his tail off to get into the lineup, and now that he is starting and making shots like that, it just makes it that much sweeter for a guy that had to earn his stripes.”
During Wesleyan’s recent four-game winning streak, the team has had to close out three games that each finished with a single-digit margin of victory. Last month, the Cardinals lost four games by just 10 points or fewer, including a double-overtime 77-75 heartbreak loss to NESCAC rival Middlebury.
“We’re starting to learn how to win games, close them out, and make plays at the right time,” Rafferty said. “Earlier in the season, we weren’t doing all of that. That credit has to go to guys like Jack Mackey and BJ Davis, and I think that’s just coming from more experience.”
The Cardinals have four games left on their schedule, all of which are NESCAC match-ups. Wesleyan will play at Trinity on Friday night, and travel to Amherst for a Saturday afternoon game against their Little Three rival. Trinity is looking to move ahead of Wesleyan in the conference standings, as the Bantams are just one loss behind the Cards in NESCAC play.
Amherst, the defending Division III National Champion, is currently first in the conference with an 18-3 record overall and a 6-1 record against NESCAC opponents. Earlier this season, the Lord Jeffs came to Middletown and defeated Wesleyan 76-62.
“They’re a fantastic team,” Rafferty said of Amherst. “They’re very, very talented, but we definitely think we can beat them this time around. We’ve steadily been getting better week by week since we played them last time, and I think it’ll be a good test for us. I think Coach Reilly is doing all of the right things to keep us going in the right direction here, and we’re really excited about the opportunity. Any time you can play the defending national champion, it’s a shot to prove yourself, and that’s what we want to do.”