Men's Basketball Falls to Wesleyan at Hockenbury Classic

NORTHFIELD, Vt. — Despite trailing by as much as 11 points in the first half, the Wesleyan University men's basketball team recovered to post an 82-52 win against Mitchell College on Sunday in the consolation game of the 2012 TDS Ed Hockenbury Classic hosted by Norwich University. 

With the win, the Cardinals improved to 5-3, while the loss evened the Mariners to 3-3. The Cardinals trailed by 11 with 8:48 remaining in the first half, but outscored the Mariners 14-2 in the next five minutes to take a 28-27 lead with 2:09 to play in the half. 

Wesleyan would allow Mitchell just one point in the final minutes and scored eight points to take the 36-28 lead into half. 

Wesleyan would open the second half with a 15-0 run to take a 23-point lead with 16:08 remaining in the game. The Cardinals, who shot 52 percent from the floor, held Mitchell to just 24 second-half points en route to the 30-point victory. 

Rashid Epps led the Cardinals with 15 points and 15 rebounds. He connected on 7-of-12 shots from the floor and added 1-for-3 shooting from the free throw line. The Cardinals also saw double-digit scoring from All-Tournament selection Mike Callaghan and Shasha Brown, who both contributed 12 points, and BJ Davis, who added 11. 

Mitchell was led offensively by junior Anthony Epps and All-Tournament selection Joshua Ford, who notched 12 points apiece. Ford also led the Mariners on the boards with a team-high eight rebounds.

Mitchell returns to action at home against Western Connecticut State University on Tuesday, December 4 at 6 p.m.