Men’s Basketball Wins 4-OT Thriller vs. Tufts

It took four overtime periods and an hour of game action, but the Cardinals’ male hoopsters defeated Tufts on Friday night, recording their first NESCAC win of 2009-10.  Three players, including Jason Mendell ’12 (15 points, four rebounds), played at least 50 minutes.  Freshman standout Shasha Brown scored 30 points, falling just five short of his career high, a 35-point effort in a loss at Williams in November.  No other Cardinal has scored 30 this season.

Wesleyan looked to be on its way to an easy victory when the lead stood at 32-18 with seven minutes until halftime, but Tufts clawed its way back and eventually took a five-point lead with a little over four minutes left in regulation.  The Cards went on an 8-1 run that tied the game with 2:13 left, and neither team could score for the remainder of the half.  Wes had the ball for the final 1:11 of regulation, and missed five potential game-winners in that span despite dominating the offensive glass and taking a timeout twice.  Brown, despite having the hot hand, missed three jumpers during this final possession.

In the first five-minute overtime, the Cardinals led by as much as five on two separate occasions, but could not shake the Jumbos, who tied it back up with :21 left in OT.  Again, Wes had the final shot, but Mendell was unable to convert on his buzzer-beating jumper.
 The second overtime saw the Jumbos lead by as much as five, but the Cardinals fought back.  Again they had a chance to win on the last possession, but David Maltz’s ’11 three-pointer was off the mark.  Overtime number three began with the Cardinals jumping out to a four-point lead, but yet again, the Jumbos answered, taking a one-point lead with 50 seconds left.  Greg St. Jean ’13 (14 points, 12 boards) made one of two free throws to tie the game with just over half a minute to go, and Tufts missed its first chance at a game-winner, setting up a fourth overtime.

By the fourth extra session, Brown was so dehydrated that he had to leave the game with muscle cramps, but it did not seem to matter to the Cardinals, who finally pulled away from Tufts.  The Jumbos, down three with :20 left, missed a game-tying three-point attempt, and St. Jean pulled down the biggest rebound of the game.  He was fouled and sealed the deal with two free throws at the other end, providing the final 98-93 margin of victory.

The grueling NESCAC conference schedule meant that the Cardinals had another game the very next day after their exhausting quadruple-overtime victory.  This time, it seemed as though Wes could have used a bit more time, losing to Bates 74-69.  At first, it appeared as though the previous night’s game had drained the Cardinals, who were behind by as much as 16 in the second half before mounting a furious comeback.  Down 15 with six minutes left, the Cards went on an impressive 13-2 run to reduce the deficit to 69-65 with 1:23 to go.  However, they were unable to get any closer, as they missed too many crucial shots down the stretch, while Bates made five of six free throws to seal the game.  Mendell led the team in scoring with 18, while Mike Callaghan ’13 and Derick Beresford ’13 chipped in 13 each.  St. Jean had a typically versatile performance, scoring seven while grabbing five rebounds and dishing out five assists.
The Cardinals get a break from NESCAC action when Eastern Connecticut visits Middletown on Tuesday.