MIDDLETOWN, Conn. – The Wesleyan men's basketball team saw their home opener spoiled by Rowan on Saturday afternoon, as the Profs defeated the Cardinals 80-55 from Silloway Gymnasium. Rowan moves into the win column for the first time this season while Wesleyan drops their second straight game.
 
Prior to the start of play, Wesleyan held a moment of silence to remember the life of former head coach Herb Kenny, who passed away this summer. Herb coached at Wesleyan for 27 seasons, winning 312 games and eight Little Three titles.
 
A gritty defensive effort from Rowan made life difficult for the Cardinals in this one, as Wesleyan committed 24 turnovers and shot just 32.8 percent from the floor (22-for-67).
 
Nakial Cross '25 played the best game of his young career, putting up 17 points (7-14 FG) with seven rebounds in 27 minutes. Fritz Hauser '26 also netted his first career double-digit point total, finishing with 14 (6-12 FG, 2-4 3FG). Shackylle Dezonie '23 recorded a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds while Nicky Johnson '25 stuffed the stat sheet with seven points, 12 rebounds and nine assists in 36 minutes.
 
Play was back-and-forth in the early going, with Cross netting a three-pointer from the wing after a Rowan timeout, that made it 7-5 Wesleyan 3:12 into play. The Profs then went on a 9-2 run to hold a 14-9 lead but Hauser canned tripled on consecutive possessions as Wesleyan retook a 15-14 lead towards the midway point of the first half.
 
The next five minutes or so saw neither side rip off a scoring run, but Rowan closed the half on rampant 18-2 run as the Profs turned what was just a four-point lead at 27-23 with 5:47 remaining into a 43-25 halftime lead.
 
Trailing by 18 at the break, Wesleyan was better in the second half, cutting the Profs lead down to as few as 14 in the second half but that was the closest they'd get as Rowan ultimately pulled away with the comfortable 25-point win.
 
Ja'Zere Noel led the Profs with 21 points on 9-of-14 shooting with eight rebounds and three assists. Andrew Seager recorded a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds as two other Rowan players finished in double figures (Marcellus Ross 12 points, D'Andre Vilmar 10).
 
Wesleyan travels to Emmanuel for a Tuesday night non-conference showdown before returning home to face Farmingdale State on Saturday, November 26 at 2:00 PM.