HARTFORD, CT.- The Wesleyan men's basketball team continues their impressive play with a big win over the Trinity Bantams Saturday afternoon. The Cardinals claim their 10^th straight victory and fourth straight NESCAC win to begin conference play. It was a balanced effort, with four Cardinals scoring 14 or more points to claim their 4^th straight win over the Bantams dating back to the 2018-19 season. Wesleyan improves to 12-5 (4-0 NESCAC), while Trinity falls to 14-4 (2-2 NESCAC).

The Cardinals were led by the trio of Nicky Johnson '25, Preston Maccoux '23, and Shackylle Dezonie '23 who combined for 49 of Wesleyan's 75 points. Johnson led the way in scoring with a 17-point night (7-16 FG, 3-7 3pt) while also dishing out a game-high eight assists. Maccoux and Dezonie were right behind him with 16 point apiece. Maccoux did a bit of everything (seven rebounds, five asissts), but did most of his scoring by getting to the free throw line where he went 11/13. Meanwhile, Dezonie did most of his work from around the basket (8-13 FG) while being a problem on the defensive end with two blocks.

The Cardinals got out to a hot start to the game, opening on a 10-3 run that was capped off by back-to-back buckets by Gabe Ravetz '23 who finished his night with 14. Wesleyan kept their foot on the gas to extend their lead to nine on jumpers by Fritz Hauser '26 and Johnson that forced a Bantams 30 second timeout. Trinity came storming back over the next couple of minutes to trim the lead to three behind a series of steals and layups with 11 minutes to go in the half. The teams went back and forth until a Charles Redd triple capped off a 7-0 run that had the lead down to two, the closest it had been since the opening minute. The Bantams finally came all the way back with just over three minutes remaining in the half to even the score at 31. Hauser was able to knock down his second triple of the game on Wesleyan's final possession to give his team a 35-33 advantage heading into the break.

The Cardinals quickly extended their lead back out to seven on a Dezonie layup and Johnson three ball in the opening two minutes. Trinity came right back with a run of their own a few minutes later to trim their deficit right back to one with 13:35 remaining. However, the Cardinals had an answer all night, this time with it being Johnson who hit another one of his three triples on the day to extend their lead back to two possessions. The two teams went at it for the next seven plus minutes with neither team able to gain an advantage.

Maccoux continued to get to the line throughout the half, adding two more from the charity stripe at the 5:47 mark to move Wesleyan's lead to six, the largest lead they've had since early in the half. The Bantams wouldn't go away, trimming it right back to two on a Henry Vetter layup with 4:22 left in the game. Dezonie had the answer for the Cardinals this time around making three consecutive layups to give the Cards some breathing room. Trinity had one more push in them in the closing two minutes, with Ben Callahan-Gold knocking down two pressure free throws to trim the deficit to one with 1:10 remaining. Both teams traded missed opportunities, leading to a Coach Reilly timeout with Wesleyan in possession and the lead. Maccoux was immediately fouled off the inbound. The senior would knock down both to give Wesleyan a three-point lead. Hauser would make a crucial steal on the other end to seal the deal and the Cards would escape with a 75-70 hard fought win.

Wesleyan finished the game shooting 38.5% from the field compared to Trinity's 43.8%. The Cardinals made up for the shooting disparity with nine triples, 16-20 from the line, and outrebounding the Bantams 44-35. Maccoux had a career-high in both free throws made and attempted with 11 and 13. Trinity dominated the points in the paint battle, 40-18.
Wesleyan will return to the court Monday January 23^rd where they will face off with UMass Dartmouth in a non-conference contest at Silloway Gymnasium.