No. 6 Wesleyan Wins First NESCAC Title in Overtime - Mar 2, 2015

Jack Mackey (6'2''-G) had 18 points, including a step-back three-pointer to give his team the lead for good in overtime, as Wesleyan defeated Amherst, 74-70, in the championship game of the New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) Men's Basketball Tournament this afternoon on Ogrodnik Court in Trinity College's Ray Oosting Gymnasium. Sixth-seeded Wesleyan improves to 19-8 with its sixth victory in a row, and earns an automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Championship Tournament. Fifth-seeded Amherst, which had beaten Wesleyan twice during the regular season, drops to 20-7 and hopes to earn an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament when selections are announced tomorrow afternoon.

With the game tied at 63-all after a jumper by Amherst's Jayde Dawson (6'2''-G) with 3:35 left in regulation, a scoring drought ensued that lasted through the end of the second half and more than half of the overtime before Mackey drilled his sixth three-point shot of the game to put the Cardinals ahead, 66-63, with 2:14 on the clock. Wesleyan's Joseph Kuo (6'8''-F) sandwiched a pair of wide-open dunks around a long trey by Amherst's Johnny McCarthy (6'5''-G/F) to make the score, 70-66, in the Cardinals' favor with 25 seconds remaining. The teams traded free throws before a quick drive by Dawson and a missed Wesleyan foul shot gave the Lord Jeffs a final chance to tie with a three-pointer, but the try by Amherst's Connor Green (6'4''-G/F) was not close, and Wesleyan's PJ Reed (6'5''-G) put the game away with a free throw at the end to account for the 74-70 final tally.

Wesleyan had come out strong early, going ahead, 10-2, 2:13 into the game, but Amherst rallied to tie at 19-19 on a long ball by McCarthy and led, 27-23, with 6:51 on the clock after four consecutive layups by Eric Conklin (6'6''-F). Wesleyan closed the half with a 13-0 run, as B.J. Davis (5'11''-G-82) started things with seven straight points by getting fouled on both a three-pointer and a two-point jumper and making both free throws. Davis and Conklin led their respective teams with 10 points each at the break.

The Cardinals maintained at least a five-point cushion for almost nine minutes in the second half before another Conklin bucket inside made the score, 49-46, at the 11:04 mark, and Conklin scored five in a row to give Amherst its first lead of the second half, 53-52, with 8:44 on the clock. Davis scored on a drive for a 63-61 lead with 4:43 remaining, followed by a three-pointer by Dawson and a dunk in traffic by Cardinal Rashid Epps (6'4''-F) before Dawson's jumper tied it at 63-63.

Epps joined Mackey in double figures in scoring for Wesleyan with 14 points and added a game-high 11 rebounds, while Kuo and Davis contributed 12 points apiece. Conklin led all scorers with 19 points, while Dawson added 14 points and five assists, Jacob Nabatoff (6'8''-F) notched 12 points and nine boards, and McCarthy finished with 10 points and five rebounds for the Lord Jeffs.

Courtesy of NESCAC

NESCAC Tournament Final: Wesleyan - Amherst 74-70
NESCAC Tournament Semifinals:
Amherst - Bowdoin 76-56
Wesleyan - Trinity 55-52