MIDDLETOWN, Conn. – As most Wesleyan vs. Williams games play out, Friday night’s dual came down to the final minute where Jackson Cormier ’26 sank a dagger three from the corner that pushed the No. 9 ranked Wesleyan men’s basketball team to a 67-61 win over their Little 3 rivals from Silloway Gymnasium. With the win, the Cardinals (15-0, 1-0 NESCAC) continue their best start in team history, while the Ephs drop to 9-4 (0-1 NESCAC).
 
In a contest that featured nine ties and 12 lead changes, the Cardinals leaned on their defense and toughness along the interior, the latter of which proved vital in the first half as Williams made 52 percent of their shot attempts but went into halftime trailing 37-32.
 
Williams came out firing, hitting four straight field goals to build an early 13-10 lead. More than 14 minutes into the first half, Alex Lee hit the fifth triple for Williams to give the Ephs a 30-23 advantage, but from that point forward it was a sudden Cardinal surge that flipped the script entirely.
 
Nicky Johnson ’25 opened what was a 15-2 Wesleyan run to end the first half with a three-pointer from the wing followed by a great defensive play from Josh Cameron ’27 at midcourt that led to an uncontested layup for Sam Pohlman ’26. Williams called timeout to try and stymie the run to no avail as Fritz Hauser ’26 splashed a three-pointer followed by consecutive three-point makes from Oscar Edelman ’28, the second of which came in the waning seconds before the halftime buzzer sounded.
 
The Cardinals carried that momentum into the early stages of the second half, with Shane Regan ’25 scoring the first four points to give Wesleyan their largest lead of the game at 42-32 with 18:14 remaining. What was a 19-2 Cardinal run between the two halves was quickly answered with a 9-0 Williams run in a span of just over two minutes, cutting the deficit down to one point.
 
Over the final 17+ minutes of the contest, neither side led by more than five points up until the final 2.1 seconds as the storied Little 3 rivals traded blows all throughout the second half. Just as Williams looked to be taking control of the game, leading 56-52 with 8:11 left, Cameron came through with a huge three-pointer from the corner.
 
Neither side scored for nearly two minutes until Pohlman drove the lane for a tough finish at the rim followed by Johnson who grabbed an offensive board and somehow got his layup attempt to fall amidst heavy traffic deep in the paint.
 
Noah Dinkins’ first shot attempt of the game was a three-point make on the ensuing Williams possession, putting the Ephs up 61-59 with 4:19 left, but a key Zach Wolinski ’28 steal led to an Edelman layup in transition to tie the score.
 
The score held steady at 61-61 for nearly two straight minutes until Pohlman went 1-of-2 at the free throw line to give Wesleyan a 62-61 advantage with 1:55 remaining.
 
Two back-to-back incredible defensive stands saw Regan dive for a loose ball and quickly call timeout followed by Hauser who blocked Lee at the rim and then alertly jumped for the loose ball and flung the ball back at Lee as Hauser was heading out of bounds.
 
That crucial sequence led to a big opportunity for the Cardinals who cashed in with Cormier nailing a triple from the corner right in front of the Wesleyan bench that turned a one-point game into a four-point Cardinal lead with 19 seconds left.
 
Another stellar defensive stand led to Lee taking a last-ditch floater attempt in the lane which hit the front of the rim and caromed out for Pohlman who secured the rebound and hit two free throws to seal the win in an epic NESCAC opener for both teams.
 
Wesleyan managed to win despite shooting a season-low 32.3 percent from the floor as the Cardinals used a 17-6 advantage in offensive rebounds to hold a 16-8 lead in second chance points. The Cardinals also committed a season-low six turnovers, matching their output in a 57-45 win at Williams back in early December.
 
Regan finished with 21 points to lead all scorers, shooting 9-of-10 at the free throw line, to go along with seven rebounds. Johnson totaled seven points, eight assists, and six rebounds with no turnovers. Pohlman added nine points off the bench while Hauser had eight points and five rebounds.
 
Next up for Wesleyan is a Saturday afternoon tip against Middlebury at 2 PM from Silloway Gymnasium.