Men’s basketball loses heartbreaker in season finale

The men’s basketball team closed out a difficult season with a loss to Albertus Magnus College on Tuesday. AMC guard Shawn Mendenhall ’09 drained his third three-pointer of the game with 2.2 seconds remaining to give AMC the 83-82 victory. With the loss, the Cards finished the season 6-17 (0-9 NESCAC), their first losing season in seven years.

After trailing 41-39 at the half, the Cards held a 74-66 lead with 5:50 to go. Wesleyan held tight to its lead, which stood at two with 11 seconds left when Mendenhall stole the ball to give AMC one last possession. AMC guard Bobby Leonzo missed a three-pointer with nine seconds to go, but Mendenhall grabbed the rebound and nailed a three-pointer of his own to steal the victory. Leonzo led all scorers with 25 points on nine for 17 shooting from the field, while Mendenhall contributed 19 points and 10 rebounds. All five AMC starters had double-digit outputs.

Sharp-shooting guard Jimmy Shepherd ’07 led the way for the Cards with 21 points. Cardinals captain Jared Ashe ’07 contributed 18 points, 10 rebounds, and eight assists to provide a balanced attack for the Cards. Nick Pelletier ’08 chipped in with 15 points and six rebounds.

On the season, Shepherd totaled 69 three-pointers, the second most in team history, and set the team record for threes-per-game, averaging 3.0 on the season. Shepherd delivered 15 double-digit performances and finished second on the team in scoring, averaging 12.6 points per game. Ashe finished the year leading the team with 4.5 assists per game, and he was second on the team in rebounds, averaging 6.3 per game. Pelletier led the team in points and rebounds, with 12.7 and 6.9 per game respectively.

Shepherd, who was spotted daily in the gym this past fall working on his release, was quick to acknowledge the importance of the team in allowing him to set the record.

“It felt good to hit so many threes this year, and it’s a testament to what we can do as a team,” he said. “Most of my threes were created by the point guards, including Jared Ashe, who battled all year long and had a great season.”

Despite having no seniors on the team, the Cardinals final record reflected a disappointing season. After reaching .500 at the exam period break, the Cardinals struggled through the heart of their NESCAC schedule and ended the season on a tough losing streak. Three of the team’s last five losses were by margins of less than five points.

“[It is] definitely a bitter taste in our mouths after all the losses to end the season, but with everyone back next year and a fresh start, we’re looking forward to getting back at it,” Ashe said. “A lot of the young guys needed the experience this year. We should be better next year, especially on the inside, where we have a lot of young guys who need to step it up next year.”

“It was a tough season with lots of ups and downs, unfortunately there were a lot more downs,” Shepherd said. “With the same 16 kids returning to the floor next year though, this year provided great experience”

With this experience, the Cards will look to return to the winning ways they demonstrated in earning seven straight winning seasons from 1998 to 2005.