Inconsistency plagues Cards

Coming into the season, the men’s basketball team had every reason to be confident, despite the previous season’s winless conference record. With the return of all players from the year before and the return of big man Rob Kelly ’07, the Cardinals were poised to make their mark in the NESCAC. Despite the high expectations, the Cards have been plagued by inconsistent play of late in conference games, dropping a hard-fought 59-56 decision to Bates on Friday, before being blown out by Tufts on Saturday, 94-69.

Against Bates, ranked 19th in the country, the Cards played the Bobcats close from start to finish, never falling behind more than seven points throughout the first half, while using their stout half court defense to hold the Bobcats to just 20 points in the second half. The Cardinals took a 50-49 advantage, with over three minute to play off of a key steal by Jared Ashe ’07, before Bates swished home a clutch three pointer to take a two-point advantage. Kelly, the Cards go to player on offense down low, knocked home two key free throws to send the game into overtime tied at 52.

In overtime, Bates struck first with an early three pointer, which set the tone for the extra session. The Bobcats pushed the lead to four with just under three minutes remaining, but they struggled at the free throw line, giving the Cardinals one last shot to tie the game as they trailed Bates by three with 16 seconds left. The Cards looked to set up sharp shooter Jimmy Shepherd ’07 for a three pointer, but the co-captain failed to get a good look at the basket as he dished off to Kelly for a three pointer that missed the mark.

Once again, Kelly was the dominant force down low for the Cardinals, scoring a game high 23 points as his post up game frustrated the Bobcat defense. Also pitching in on the offensive end was Ashe who put home 14 points. Ashe played a large role on both sides of the floor, as he added five steals on the defensive end.

Worn out from the Bates loss, the Cards came out flat last Saturday afternoon against Tufts and never recovered, falling by a score of 94-69. Kelly provided the lone offensive bright spot for the Cards, efficiently notching 24 points of 10-15 shooting from the floor.

“We were really tired following the Bates loss,” Ashe said. “And we just didn’t have an answer for their shooters. It seemed like every player on their team could fill it up.”

Tufts led by as many as twelve in the first five minutes and claimed a 30-8 advantage midway through the first half. Head coach Gerry McDowell was quick to make multiple substitutions, but his mixing and matching of personnel did little to stop the bleeding as Tufts grabbed a 52-28 halftime lead.

The Jumbos saw four players score in double digits, taking advantage of Wesleyan’s weary legs by playing at a high pace throughout the contest. Tufts’ commitment to pushing the ball up-court even after Wesleyan baskets led to a number of lay-ups and easy buckets, allowing Tufts to shoot 57 percent from the floor in the first half and 51 percent from the floor on the game. While the Cardinals defense held Bates scoreless for over five minutes in the second half the night before, the 94 points surrendered by the Cardinals against Tufts was a season high.

On top of the Cardinals’ defensive woes, Wesleyan never got into a groove on offense. Power forward Nick Pelletier ’08 was held to nine points and Shepherd was held scoreless. The Cards shot just 37 percent from the floor in a match-up that was essentially decided in the first half.

Much of the second half was played by the reserves of both squads, giving some of Wesleyan’s young talent a chance to shine.

“It’s too bad it came in this type of situation, but it was encouraging to see our younger guys get some action,” Ashe said. “A bunch of them played well, like Steve Tolbert [’09], who really shot it well.”

Tolbert was 2-2 from beyond the arc and put in ten points in just 12 minutes of the bench. Stan Grayson ’09 added six points and ten boards as well as two blocks, the second of which gave the nearly silent home crowd something to cheer about as he emphatically redirected the shot well out of bounds.

The Cards have a week to rest up for another important NESCAC weekend. Wesleyan travels to Trinity for a 7:30 p.m. tilt this Friday before taking on Amherst at 2 p.m. on Saturday on the road.