WATERVILLE, ME. – The Wesleyan men's basketball team continues to roll, defeating Colby 79-59 at the Margaret M. Crook Center in Maine to win their 6^th straight game and second straight game to open NESCAC play. They were led by Nicky Johnson '25 who put through a career-high 28 points in 34 minutes for the Cards. Wesleyan advances to 8-5 (2-0 NESCAC) on the year, while Colby drops just their third game of the year to fall to 12-3 (0-2 NESCAC).

Johnson continues to impress, pouring in a career-high 28 points on 9/16 shooting (5/8 3pt) to give the Cardinals their second NESCAC win in as many days. The sophomore point guard was also a perfect 5/5 from the line, bringing down seven rebounds and dishing out a team-high four assists. He got help in the form of Preston Maccoux '23. Maccoux went right back to work after his career-high performance the prior night by managing 22 points (10/18 FG), six rebounds, and two blocks to help the Cards get past Colby. Shackylle Dezonie '23 was also a factor in this one, putting through 16 points on an efficient 5/7 from the field and 5/5 from the foul line while also leading the team with eight rebounds.

Colby opened the game three of four from beyond the arc, but the Cardinals hung right with them at 9-7 three minutes in. Will King then fueled a mid-half run for the Mules with back-to-back triples to extend their lead to six. The Cardinals stormed back off the back of a pair of Maccoux layups, evening the game at 28 with just seven minutes to go in the half. Wesleyan would keep that momentum going, producing a 13-4 run over the next three minutes of action to take their largest lead of the game at seven. The Mules held the Cardinals without a score for the final three minutes of the half, however Wesleyan still hung onto a 41-36 advantage going into the break.

Johnson opened the second half with a triple, and that was a sign for things to come from the second-year starter. He would go on to pour in 18 second half points as the Cardinals really opened up the game in the final 20 minutes. A 7-0 run for the Cards with 11 minutes to go was the final turning point in this one, extending their advantage to 16. The Cardinals closed the game on a 10-0 run to seal the deal and reach the final score of 79-59 for their 8^th win of 2022-23.

Wesleyan finished the game shooting 44.6% from the field, knocking down 7/23 (30.4%) triples and going 14/16 form the line. The Mules shot 39.7% from the field, 7/22 (31.8%) from three, and 2/5 from the line. The trio of Johnson, Maccoux and Dezonie combined for 24 of Wesleyan's 29 field goals. Colby was led by Will King who put together a 23 point, six rebound, and five assist night in a losing effort.

Wesleyan will return home to Silloway Gymnasium Wednesday January 11^th where they will take on Mitchell in a non-conference battle.