MIDDLETOWN, Conn.  (Jan. 17) -- Junior Shasha Brown went 11-for-12 at the free throw line including a pair with :02.2 remaining to lift Wesleyan past its Little Three rival Amherst, 68-67, here tonight in men's basketball action.  The teams had played 11 days earlier in Amherst with the Lord Jeffs, ranked fourth nationally in Division III, prevailing, 66-64.  Combined with their 66-43 victory over Williams College four days ago, the Cardinals knocked off both their Little Three rivals in the same year for the first time since the 2000-01 campaign.

Wesleyan took a 32-31 lead on a basket by junior Mike Callaghan 20 seconds into the second half and led throughout the period, and by as many as six points (42-36) before Amherst assumed its first lead of the period with :07.4 to go on a pair of free throws by sophomore Aaron Toomey.  Toomey, who scored 11 points for the Lord Jeffs, was fouled driving to the hole as was Brown 5.2 seconds later.  Brown, who had missed his only shot from the line on the day with :22.7 left and the Cardinals leading, 66-65, made amends with the winning points.  Amherst inbounded the basket to Toomey deep in its own end and Toomey launched a desperate try from near the midcourt line that missed the mark as time expired.

Callaghan led all scorers in the game with a career-high 24 points as he also paced the Cardinals with five rebounds.  Brown finished with 19 points and seven assists.  Leading Amherst with 23 points was senior Taylor Barrise, who went a near-perfect 7-for-8 from behind the arc.  He came into the game with a team-best 36 treys while shooting 41 percent on three-pointers.  His final trey with :54 to go tied the game at 63-63 before Callaghan responded with his only three-pointer in the game on his only try with :40 to go, putting the Cardinals ahead, 66-63.  A basket by senior Jeff Holmes off the fourth assist of the game by Toomey cut the difference to 66-65 at the :30 mark.

Amherst built as much as a 10-point cushion during the first half, getting out to a 20-10 lead with 9:38 remaining in the period, but the Cardinals went on a 20-9 run to take their first lead of the contest since holding a 2-0 margin on Brown's opening basket.  A Brown basket with 1:21 to go in the period spotted Wesleyan a 30-29 lead before sophomore Logan Buckner ended the scoring of the half for a 31-30 Amherst margin.  It was Amherst last lead before the closing 10 seconds of the game.

Junior Willy Workman was the only player to reach double digits in the rebounding department as he grabbed 11 for the Lord Jeffs.  He also had eight points while senior David Waller chipped in with 10 for Amherst.  Wesleyan was a solid 20-for-24 at the line on the evening, countering the 11-for-23 effort by the Lord Jeffs from three-point range.  Wesleyan went 6-for-10 from long range as junior Derick Beresford was 3-for-5 and senior Jason Mendell hit both his attempts. Amherst was 12-for-18 from the stripe.

Amherst resumes action Fri., Jan. 20 with a NESCAC matchup at Bowdoin while Wesleyan hosts Tufts in a NESCAC game the same day.