No. 1 Wesleyan moves to 20-0

Jan 31, 2025
Shane Regan had another big night in front of a packed house, going for 23 points, including two free throws to help secure the game with 3.3 seconds remaining.
Wesleyan athletics photo by Steve McLaughlin
 

On Friday night, Wesleyan welcome back its 2015 NESCAC men's basketball conference championship team to be honored on the 10-year anniversary of its title. And then, the 2025 Wesleyan men's basketball team did something that that previous team never did, as the Cardinals won their 20th game of the season. No. 1 Wesleyan defeated No. 9 Tufts 69-66 to improve to 20-0 in front of a standing room only crowd of 1,456 in Middletown, Connecticut.

Despite shooting just 5-for-22 from three-point range, and despite missing three out of four free throws at a time where one make would have tied the game with two minutes to play, Wesleyan kept Tufts off the scoreboard as well, as the Jumbos (17-3, 5-1 NESCAC) went 1-for-6 with two turnovers from the 7-minute mark until James Morakis broke the scoring drought with a jumper to cut the lead to 66-63 with 15 seconds left. Nicky Johnson made one out of two free throws, and after Tufts took its final timeout with 6.6 left, Dylan Reilly threw in an incredible three with 3.3 seconds remaining to cut the lead to 67-66. Shane Regan was fouled before the inbounds and made two foul shots to give the Cardinals (20-0, 6-0) a three-point lead, and Zion Watt had a look at the basket from almost 40 feet out that hit off the back of the rim at the buzzer.

Regan led all scorers with 23 points, his ninth 20-point game and his fifth in the past six games. Johnson added 17. Morakis finished with 19 points for Tufts, which was just 4-for-8 from the foul line.

Jake Holtz scored a game-high 21 points as No. 17 Whitworth, which trailed almost the entire first half and the majority of the second half, outscored Puget Sound 10-5 down the stretch to defeat the Loggers, 60-58. Whitworth (16-2, 7-2 Northwest Conference) overcame 4-for-17 shooting from three-point range in the win, which vaulted the Pirates into sole possession of first place after Pacific Lutheran defeated Whitman 84-76. Miles Nash scored 24 points for PLU.

In women's action, No. 1 NYU made it look easy once again, as the Violets rolled past homestanding University of Chicago in a 76-49 win. Jamie Behar and Natalie Bruns tied for game-high honors with 19 points apiece in the win. It's the 48th consecutive win for NYU, which is 17-0 overall and 6-0 in UAA play.

The Berry women improved to 15-5 overall and 5-2 in the Southern Athletic Association, as the Vikings held Hendrix to 14-for-51 shooting from the floor and 2-for-18 from three-point range in a 51-42 win. Elly Callihan led the way with 16 points and eight rebounds, with eight of her points coming in a 14-0 run which started the game.