Co-Captain Keala Mills ’04 has achieved a milestone only the elite players in Cardinal Basketball history have been able to reach. With 22 points against Bowdoin Saturday, Mills became only the sixteenth men’s basketball player to reach the 1000-point plateau. Despite the effort, the Cards fell to the Polar Bears 95-83 on Saturday, but managed a split on the weekend with an impressive 83-70 win over Colby the night before.
On Friday, the Cardinals temporarily jumped over the .500 mark with a key win over NESCAC rival Colby. With just a one point advantage at the half, the Cards broke the game open late in the second half. After sitting out a good portion of the second half with foul trouble, Mills went in and scored the Cardinals’ final fourteen points. The Cardinals prevailed 83-70.
Although the Cardinal’s offense stepped up, it was their defense that truly made the difference.
“Our star player Tim Holland’s [’05] defense was the key to this game. His key defense on their opposing point guard led us to victory,” said co-captain Kanem Johnson ’04.
“I’ll give credit to Tim Holland. He has been able to get through screens, and has given the opposition no open looks,” said Head Coach Gerry McDowell, “Tim has been coming on well, as he displayed his good floor game. He has been able to pick it up defensively, as he showed in the second half.”
On Saturday, Mills’ milestone was almost overshadowed by dominating performance down low by Johnson, who contributed 37 points. Johnson ’04 needs only16 points to become the all-time leading scorer in Wesleyan basketball history. While the Cards were able to keep it close down the stretch, they could not counter the Polar Bears’ solid outside shooting from beyond the three-point arc. Holland was able to keep it close in the second half with several key three-point buckets, as he added all twelve of his points on three pointers. Robert Kelly ’06, who has seen his playing time increase significantly this season, pitched in with ten points.
The team has had to rely on their role players much more at this point in the season. The lineup has seen many changes with players leaving due to personal reasons and many players have had to step up their play. Kelly has been able to provide another inside presence in the paint along with Johnson, as the Cardinals have increasingly looked to him for a solid defensive presence and another scoring option down low.
“Robert has certainly earned the extra minutes, as he has worked extremely hard during practice,” said Johnson.
“Rob has been rebounding and scoring easy baskets much more, which has increased his confidence,” said Mills. “Our guys are getting key experience. They are certainly coming through when it counts.”
Another player who has seen his playing time increase is point guard Doug Rubenstein ’07. Although he saw just 21 minutes in the two combined games this weekend, his scrappy defense and passing skills gave the Cardinals an energy boost when he entered the game.
The Cardinals certainly came through with some of their best basketball over the break versus the defending Division III champion Williams Ephs at home on January 7th. The Cards almost pulled off one of the biggest upsets this season as they played their best overall basketball of the season, but fell 93-87 in overtime. Nonetheless, the game showed that they certainly have the firepower to match up against some of the toughest teams they will face this year.
“That was the best overall game we have played,” McDowell said. “We were clicking defensively. This is how well we are capable of playing. I have confidence in our guys. We are growing as a team. We still have some growth to make at the defensive end.”
In several of the other games during the break, the Cards were forced to play without their starting point guard Jared Ashe ’07, as he missed games with the flu. His presence was noted upon his return and his floor leadership on offensive was evident as the team scored 100 points against the Tufts Jumbos.
The men will look to bounce back from the Bowdoin loss with a non-conference game against St. Joseph College on Thursday night at home.
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