Going into the final weekend of NESCAC regular-season play the Cardinal men’s basketball team needed to win at least one of their two games to cement their place in the postseason tournament. And after a four-hour bus ride to Brunswick, Maine, on Friday, Wesleyan locked up the eighth seed in the tournament with a thrilling 80-77 overtime win against Bowdoin.
Despite the draining bus trip, the Cardinals appeared to be fresher than their opponents at the outset, taking a 25-13 lead after 12 minutes. But soon they suffered a slowdown, managing only 15 points over the next 12 minutes and allowing the Polar Bears to score 29 over that same span. Bowdoin finally took the lead four minutes into the final period at 42-40. After that, the game was almost completely even, with neither team leading by more than five and the score being tied seven times. Although the Cards were down five with five minutes left, an excellent stretch of play by Jason Mendell ’12, which included seven straight points, three successful free throws, a three-point play, and a block, brought them within two. Freshman sensation Shasha Brown (24 points, four assists, three steals) finally brought them all the way back to 69-69 on a layup with just over a minute left.
Both teams missed their potential game-winners in the final minute, and the game headed into overtime. The Cards jumped out to a 75-69 lead, but Bowdoin cut the lead to just 79-77 with 14 seconds left. Brown was fouled to stop the clock, and made his first free throw to make him 9-of-9 from the line in the game. He ended the game 9-of-10 after missing the second, but Bowdoin was unable to get off a good shot, and the 80-77 win was sealed. Freshmen Derick Beresford and Mike Callaghan added 17 and 10 points, respectively, and Dave Maltz ’11 chipped in 10 as well. Mendell had nine rebounds to go along with his 12 points.
The next day, the Cardinals traveled to Waterville for their final NESCAC game against Colby. Although they started well, evenly matching the Mules for the first 15 minutes of the game, they were down nine at halftime after a 12-4 Colby run. The Mules were able to carry that momentum over into the second half, successfully shutting down the Cardinals’ offense. Wes, exhausted from two bus rides and an overtime thriller the previous day, never got closer than eight after halftime. The 43-25 advantage enjoyed by the Mules on the boards attests to the fatigue affecting the Cards. Shooting only 25.5 percent from the field and 16 percent from beyond the arc didn’t help the Cardinals’ cause. Colby led by as many as 18 and finally won by 16, despite a game effort from Callaghan, who led the Cardinals with 11 points.
Wesleyan finished the season with an 11-13 record, and their 3-6 NESCAC record was good enough to tie for sixth place with Amherst and Trinity, but because they lost to both those teams, they will have the eighth seed. That pits them against powerhouse and number one seed Williams, who has only lost once this season and is ranked second nationally in Division III, in the first round. In both of the Cardinals’ matchups with the Ephs this season, the Cards competed furiously, losing by a respectable 15 in Williamstown and by 16 at home. Wes has not defeated Williams since an 80-61 win in Williamstown in November 2006, but this is also the Cardinals’ first playoff appearance since 2004-05. That season, the Cardinals finished 4-5 in NESCAC play and 13-11 overall—their last winning season—but fell at Trinity by 14 in the first round of the playoffs. The Cardinals last advanced to the NESCAC semifinals in the 2002-03 season, beating Trinity at home by 12 before falling at Amherst 87-73.
Wesleyan will try for its first win against the Ephs in eight tries when they travel to Chandler Gym this Saturday, with tip-off scheduled for 4 p.m.
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