The men’s basketball team continued to struggle last weekend, suffering a heartbreaking 70-67 loss to Bowdoin on Friday night, followed by an 83-69 defeat at the hands of Colby on Saturday afternoon, eliminating the Cardinals from NESCAC playoff contention. Jimmy Shepherd ’07 scored 27 points in the losing cause against Bowdoin, while a 22-point performance from forward Nick Pelletier ’08 headlined the Cardinal effort versus Colby.
The Cards began the Bowdoin game with their offense clicking on all cylinders. Shepherd had the hot hand, notching 20 points in the first half and hitting seven of 13 from three-point land for the game. The rest of the team followed suit, shooting a sizzling 69 percent from the floor in the first twenty minutes en route to a 17-point lead at the half.
Despite this wide margin, the Cardinals stumbled down the stretch as their shooting touch abandoned them and Bowdoin found an offensive rhythm. After Wesleyan held a double-digit lead for much of the second half, Bowdoin’s Kyle Petrie capped the Polar Bears’ improbable comeback with a three-pointer from the top of the key to put the visitors ahead for good with 5.1 seconds remaining.
Steve Tolbert ’07, who finished with ten points and three assists, kept Wesleyan in the game down the stretch, driving the lane at key moments, which resulted in a pair of clutch lay-ups. Pelletier also did his part on the low blocks, scoring 16 points and pulling down nine boards.
“I thought we deserved the Bowdoin game,” Jared Ashe ’07 said. “It just summed up the year for us. There was lots of hard work and we have to learn going forward and bring those lessons into next year.”
The Cards had little time to absorb the stunning defeat before fighting for their playoff lives the next day against Colby. This time, the team struggled to find its offensive groove early, falling behind by a score of 37-25 at halftime. The second half saw the same struggles as Wesleyan shot just 35 percent for the game.
“Unfortunately, luck wasn’t on our side this weekend,” said Doug Rubenstein ’07. “All season we haven’t played up to our potential or ability, and we finally showed flashes this weekend, but we just couldn’t pull out the victories down the stretch.”
Along with Pelletier’s strong showing, Ashe put together a solid all-around performance with 13 points, nine rebounds, six assists, and six steals. Ashe led a scrappy Wesleyan defense that almost pulled off a comeback of its own, cutting the lead to eight with less than two minutes remaining. The Cards had the opportunity to cut the lead to five in the span, but Shepherd was unable to convert on two consecutive three-point attempts. “I think if we had held on Friday night, Saturday’s game would have been a whole different story for us,” Ashe said.
The two losses eliminated the squad from NESCAC playoff contention, but the team is confident that it will take valuable lessons away from this past weekend and the season as a whole.
“Even though we lost this weekend and we’re out of the playoffs, we took some steps forward because we played both Bowdoin and Colby pretty tough,” Rubenstein said. “A bunch of people showed a lot of heart because we knew going into both games that our backs were against the wall, and nobody backed down from the challenge.”
Looking forward to next season, the program looks to benefit from not losing any seniors while the young players have gained valuable game experience this winter.
The Cardinals wrap up their season at home against Salve Regina on Feb. 7 at 7:30 p.m. and at Connecticut College on Feb. 11 at 3 p.m.
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