Wesleyan Rallies Past Western New England, 88-80, in Herb Kenny Tournament Final

Pettway and Gelineau named to All-Tournament team

MIDDLETOWN, Conn. (November 19, 2016) – The Wesleyan University men's basketball team overcame a nine-point halftime deficit to capture the Herb Kenny Tip-Off Tournament title with an 88-80 victory over Western New England University this evening at Silloway Gymnasium.

Top Performers
• Sophomore guard Mikey Pettway (Bridgeport, Conn.) led the way for the Golden Bears with a game-high 22 points on 7-of-14 shooting from the field and 7-of-7 from the free throw line to go with six assists, five rebounds and two steals.
• Senior guard Mike Gelineau (Waltham, Mass.) added 20 points on 6-of-12 shooting from the field and 5-of-5 from the charity stripe, while also grabbing six boards.
• Freshmen Mike McCourt (Lincoln, R.I.) and Mike McGuire (Garden City, N.Y.) chipped in with ten and nine points, respectively.

• Senior forward Joseph Kuo (New York, N.Y.) paced Wesleyan with 22 points on 7-of-13 shooting from the field and 8-of-11 from the free throw line to go with a game-high 13 rebounds (eight offensive).
• Sophomore guard Jordan Bonner (Houston, Tex.) contributed 19 points, seven rebounds, two assists and one steal.  

Game Review
• Kuo opened the scoring with a layup 1:24 into the contest, but sophomore forward Tyler Johnson (Vernon, Conn.) answered with a three-pointer on the other end and the Golden Bears didn't trail for the remainder of the half.  
• Western New England stretched its advantage to 11 (25-14) on a trey by McGuire with 9:10 on the clock, but the Cardinals were able to pull back to within three (36-33) as Bonner connected from long range with 2:38 left in the period.
• The Golden Bears closed the half on an 8-2 run to extend their lead back to nine (44-35) heading into the break.
• Western New England maintained at least a four-point cushion early in the second half, but Wesleyan used an 8-0 run midway through the half to pull back ahead (62-60) for the first time since the Cardinals held a 2-0 lead.
• Pettway and Gelineau kept the Golden Bears within striking distance down the stretch, but Wesleyan was able to extend its advantage to six (84-78) on a layup by sophomore guard Salim Green (Yonkers, N.Y.) with 1:31 to go.
• Western New England missed its final six shots of the contest as Wesleyan held on for the win.

Notes
• The Cardinals shot 51.7% from the field (30-of-58), while the Golden Bears made 26-of-63 field goals (41.3%).
• Western New England shot an impressive 93.8% (15-of-16) from the free throw line.
• Wesleyan outrebounded Western New England 45-28 and the Cardinals also held a 44-20 advantage in points in the paint.
• Gelineau and Pettway were named to the All-Tournament Team, while Kuo claimed Tournament MVP honors.

Up Next
Western New England (1-2) faces another tough test on Tuesday, as the Golden Bears hit the road again for a matchup with NCAA Division I member Boston University at noon. Wesleyan (2-0) will be back at home on Tuesday to host Bard College.