Wesleyan College (4-3 Overall, 0-0 NESCAC) shot a blistering 55.8 percent from the field in defeating the City College of New York (2-5 Overall, 0-2 CUNYAC) by a score of 79-59 Saturday evening at the Freeman Athletic Center in Middletown, Connecticut. The loss was the fifth straight for the Beavers who had started the season winning their first two games.
The Cardinals set the tone of the game early on, racing out to an early 14-0 lead just five minutes and 13 seconds into the contest. That commanding 14-point advantage quickly grew to 20 – 25-5 – with 11:52 remaining in the first session. The Beavers showed resiliency, though, eventually chipping away at Wesleyan's lead and finishing the half on a 30-18 run to cut their deficit to eight as the teams jogged into the logger room. The Cardinals nailed 55.6 percent (15-27) from the field in the first half while CCNY also shot lights-out, nailing 47.8 percent (11-23) of their shots in the game's opening 20 minutes.
In the second half, the Cardinals continued their red-hot conversions from the floor, knocking down 56 percent of their shots (14-25) while the Beavers' shots were off in the game's final session as CCNY hit on just 29.6 percent of their launches – only hitting eight shots in the second half (8-27).
In the victory for Wesleyan, it was Shasha Brown pacing his squad by contributing a game-high 21 points on seven-of-14 shooting to go along with five assists and a pair of steals. He also converted on seven of his eight attempts from the charity stripe. Mike Callaghan added 17 points, eight rebounds (four offensive, four defensive), four steals, and two assists, and Derick Beresford helped with 12 points, four rebounds, and four steals.
Despite the loss for CCNY, it was Kenny Rubenstein leading the way for the Beavers with a team-high 19 points (5-13 FG, 7-7 FT) to go along with six rebounds and three steals in 33 minutes of action. Vincent Roberts did not get the start but he provided a spark coming off of the bench, helping with 10 points and three rebounds in 28 minutes of burn. Idris Alford added nine points and three assists off of the bench as well. Following the contest, CCNY head man Andy Stampfel gave his thoughts on the loss.
"We shot well in the first half and did a great job of chipping away and fighting our way back into the game, but unfortunately we weren't as consistent with our conversions in the game's final 20 minutes," Stampfel said. "Now we'll have six days off, so we'll have a chance to work on some things and hopefully our banged-up players can heal a bit, and then we'll go out and give our best effort against Montclair State University in a week's time.
Other than the significant difference in shooting percentage, Wesleyan controlled things well in the rebounding department, snatching 34 caroms compared to just 23 for CCNY. The Cardinals also tallied 10 steals on the evening while the Beavers had six.
The Beavers return to action in one week's time, taking to the road to battle Montclair State University in a non-conference contest, with tip-off time scheduled for 4:00pm.