Second Half Lead Slips Away as Golden Bears Fall to Wesleyan, 80-72, in Herb Kenny Tip-Off Title Game

Pettway scores game-high 34 points for WNE

MIDDLETOWN, Conn. (November 17, 2018) – The Western New England University men's basketball team let a seven-point second half lead slip away in an 80-72 loss to Wesleyan University on Saturday afternoon in the championship game of Wesleyan's Herb Kenny Tip-Off Tournament at Silloway Gymnasium.

Top Performers
Senior guard Mikey Pettway (Bridgeport, Conn.) powered the Golden Bears with a game-high 34 points to go with six rebounds and four assists.

Junior guard Mike McGuire (Garden City, N.Y.) made four-three pointers and a pair of free throws on his way to a 14-point, seven-rebound, three-assist, two-steal performance, while sophomore forward Zachary Tavitian (Milford, Conn.) chipped in with 11 points and five boards.

Wesleyan sophomore guard Austin Hutcherson (New York, N.Y.) paced a balanced offensive attack for the Cardinals with a team-high 20 points. Freshman guard Gabe Ravetz (New York, N.Y.) scored 17 points and grabbed six boards off the bench, while senior guard Jordan Bonner (Houston, Tex.) contributed 16 points and nine rebounds.

Game Review
Trailing 34-31 at halftime, Western New England grabbed the lead early in the second half with a 7-0 run that included four points from Pettway and three from McGuire.

A pair of three-pointers by junior Tim Reilly (Poughkeepsie, N.Y.) later in the half helped the Golden Bears stretch their advantage to seven (50-43) with 12:37 remaining, but Wesleyan began to chip away from there.

The Cardinals closed the gap to two (57-55) after Bonner completed a traditional three-point play with 7:44 on the clock, before pulling ahead (59-57) on a Hutcherson jumper at the 6:47 mark.

Western New England took the lead (65-64) for the final time with just under five minutes to play on a three-pointer by sophomore Alex Sikorski (Rocky Hill, Conn.).

Wesleyan took control with a 9-0 run over the next four minutes, however, as Ravetz drained a pair of clutch treys to make it an eight-point game (73-65) late. Hutcherson and Bonner sealed the contest for the Cardinals at the free throw line down the stretch as the home team held on for the win.

Notes
• Western New England had just ten turnovers and the Golden Bears scored 18 points off 19 Wesleyan turnovers.
• The Cardinals held a 53-35 advantage on the glass.
• Pettway is averaging 30 points per game through four contests this season.

Up Next
Western New England (2-2) plays the second of its two Division I exhibitions at Hartford on Saturday, before traveling to Dean next Monday. Wesleyan (2-0) hits the road to face Nichols on Tuesday.