SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – After nearly three weeks between games, the Wesleyan men's basketball team picked up right where they left off with a 73-62 victory over the University of Maine-Farmington on Friday afternoon in the opening round of the Hampton Inn West Springfield/Naismith Classic hosted by Springfield College.
 
Leading by just one late in the game, the Cardinals held the Beavers scoreless for the final 3:51 of play, scoring 10 unanswered points to ultimately win by double digits. The win moves the Cardinals to 4-5 on the season, winning three of the past four games. The Beavers drop down to 4-4 overall, losing their second straight game.
 
Wesleyan advances to the title game of the regular season tournament and will face the host Springfield on Saturday at 3:00 PM. That will be the 35^th all-time meeting between the two sides but just the third matchup since 2000.
 
A strong first half saw the Cardinals jump out to a 36-24 lead at the break over the Beavers. Gabe Ravetz '23 tossed in nine of his 11 points in the first half alone to lead all scorers.
 
After trading buckets for the first four minutes, Ravetz hit a three and Jared Langs '25 converted a three-point play down low to give the Cardinals a 11-7 early advantage. Following a make from Silas Mohlar, the Cardinals took control with an 11-0 scoring run that began with a Preston Maccous '23 triple. Maccoux scored again before Shackylle Dezonie '23 scored four straight points and Langs capped the run with two more points to make it 22-9.
 
Wesleyan's lead swelled to as many as 15 points late in the first half before finishing with a 12-point margin at the break.
 
Trying to recover from that 11-point Cardinal run, the Beavers showed some fight coming out of halftime, scoring eight unanswered points to lower the gap to just a four-point deficit. The game then swung back in favor of the Cardinals with another Maccoux three followed by a Dezonie jumper that made it 46-37 Cardinals with 13:10 remaining.
 
Maine-Farmington continued to dig in and ultimately lowered the deficit to just one point with 3:51 remaining. Clinging to a 63-62 advantage, the Cardinals owned the final four minutes of play, outscoring the Beavers 10-0 in that span.
 
Nicky Johnson '25 started the game-deciding run with a floater in the paint, kickstarting a series where the Cardinals scored on three straight possessions. Johnson followed his floater with another basket in the paint and Dezonie finished off a feed from Ravetz that made it 69-62. Free throws in the final minute proved enough for a comfortable win in the end for Wesleyan.
 
Maccoux led the Cardinals in scoring, rebounding and assists as the senior wing tallied 16 points, 10 rebounds, and four assists. This marked the second double-double of Maccoux's career and his first of the season.
 
Three others finished in double figures including Johnson (11 points, five rebounds, three assists), Ravetz (11 points, seven rebounds) and Langs (10 points, five rebounds) while Dezonie went for nine points with six rebounds and three assists.
 
Shane Regan '25 returned to the floor for the first time since November 30, 2021, finishing with seven points in 11 minutes of action.
 
Maine-Farmington was led by Terion Moss who scored a game-high 19 points with six rebounds and four assists. Jack Kane posted 14 points, eight rebounds, and three blocks while Nathan Poulin came off the bench and scored 14 points.