MIDDLETOWN, Conn. – Behind a double-double with 18 points and 17 rebounds from Erik Bjorn (Holden, Mass.), the Worcester State men's basketball team gave #19 Wesleyan all they could handle, but the Cardinals came out with an 81-73 win.
Wesleyan (7-0) was held to a season-low 41.6 percent shooting from the floor, but finished +12 in the rebounding margin to help pave the way to victory against the Lancers (4-5).
Bjorn was one of four Lancers in double-figures. Chris Cardoso (Jamaica Plain, Mass.) scored 14 points, and Marcus McCarthy (E. Providence, R.I.) had 12 points and 7 assists. Tayjaun McKenzie (Boston, Mass.) came off the bench to score 10 points.
Sam Peek '22 pumped in 17 points, leading the team in scoring for the second straight game (third time overall this season) while Antone Walker '22 tallied 15 (6-11 FG, 3-6 3FG) with five assists and Preston Maccoux '23 recorded his first career double-double with 11 points and 13 rebounds to go along with five assists in 33 minutes.
A hot start saw Wesleyan jump out to a 11-4 lead as all five members of the Cardinal starting lineup scored a basket in the four-minute span to start the game. Worcester State managed to find their footing as Marcus McCarthy hit from long range to cut the deficit to just one but that 10-4 Lancer run was answered by a 7-0 Cardinal run as Walker swished a triple, Shackylle Dezonie '23 drained a runner in the lane and Nicky Johnson '25 finished a fast break layup after Peek swiped McCarthy along the sideline.
In a game of runs, the Lancers answered back and cut the Cardinal lead down to 25-23 with 7:07 remaining in the first half, only to see Wesleyan build a 13-point lead (largest of the game) in a 12-1 run. Shane Regan '25 jumpstarted the scoring spree with a three-pointer from the wing and Jordan James '22 finished a great feed from Walker on the fast break with a thunderous dunk. Walker capped the run with a three of his own that made it 37-24 Cardinals.
Worcester State again pushed back, this time with a 9-0 run that cut the margin down to just four with 2:52 left in the stanza but a pivotal 7-0 late Wesleyan run, capped by a Gabe Ravetz '23 corner three in the waning seconds, made it 44-33 Wesleyan at the half.
Wesleyan's lead remained double digits nearly midway through the second half before the Lancers closed to within six at 66-60 with 7:24 left. Off an inbounds play, Ravetz lofted a pass high in the air for Peek who skied above the Worcester State defense and buried a layup in the paint to stymie the Lancer run. He then pulled up from the paint and hit again to make it 70-60 Cardinals and reestablish the double digit advantage.
The Lancers got to within seven in the remaining minutes but drew no closer as some late Wesleyan free throw makes put the game away, keeping the Cardinals' unbeaten start to the season intact.
Wesleyan grabbed 54 rebounds in this one (17 offensive) as this marks the third time through seven games that the Cardinals have recorded 50+ rebounds. James played big with eight points, nine rebounds and three assists in just 20 minutes as he was saddled with foul trouble for large portions of this one. Dezonie came off the bench and grabbed seven rebounds to go along with four points and two assists in 18 minutes.
Worcester State plays at Williams, another NESCAC and Little Three team, on Thursday at 7:00 PM.