Men's Basketball Earns First Win Versus SMU

MIDDLETOWN, Conn.  (Fri., Nov. 20, 2009) - Host Wesleyan University took the opening game of the Inn at Middletown Tip-Off Tournament tonight by building a 19-point lead in the second half and holding off Johnson St. College (0-2) for a 104-94 triumph.  In the second game of the evening, Becker College (1-2) used an 11-2 run to overcome a 60-58 deficit late in the game and go on for a 74-67 win over the University of Southern Maine (0-2).  The tournament consolation will be played at 1 p.m. Saturday, followed by the championship game at 3 p.m.
    Wesleyan and Johnson St., meeting for the first time, stood even at intermission, 47-47.  The Badgers opened the second stanza with as pair of three-pointers, one each by junior Victor Abass and junior Ian Passino to give Johnson St. its largest lead of the game at 53-47.  But that ignited a 16-2 Wesleyan burst, led by freshman Derick Beresford and sophomore Jason Mendell, who each struck for two three-pointers, as Wesleyan opened up a 63-55 edge with 16:08 to go.  The Cardinals improved their margin to a game-high 19 at 91-72 with 7:25 to play.  Johnson St. then went on an 18-3 run, including 13 points in a row, to whittle the gap to four at 94-90 with 2:16 left.  Senior Leandro Martinez, who led all scorers with 29 points, hit for 11 of the 18 points.  When Mendell canned a trey at the 1:42 mark, Wesleyan had a 97-90 lead.  The Cardinals went 7-for-8 at the line in the final 1:16 to secure the victory with Beresford going 4-for-4.  He finished with 17 points.  Fellow freshman Shasha Brown chipped in with 22 while Mendell led Wesleyan with 26 on 10-for-15 shooting from the field including 4-for-6 from behind the arc.  Wesleyan had 15 treys in game, as did Johnson St., led by Martinez' 5-for-8 shooting from long range.  Wesleyan enjoyed a 42-28 edge on the boards led by junior Dave Maltz with 13 caroms.
    Becker earned its spot in the finals by pulling away from Southern Maine in the latter stages of the contest as neither team led by more than seven until the final minute.  Southern Maine owned the largest lead of the first half at 28-21 but the Hawks used a 13-5 run to take a 34-33 lead into intermission.  The Huskies again took early control in the second half, leading 49-44 with 12:10 to go.  Becker retook the lead at 61-60 with 5:10 on the clock on a free throw by sophomore Terrance Favors, who netted 23 points in the game along with 10 rebounds.  He added five more points over the next 3 1/2 minutes as Becker assumed a 69-62 lead with 1:38 to go.  USM got no closer than five from that point.  Junior Trey Jacobs had a game-high 32 points for Becker, shooting 12-for-15 from the field and 8-for-9 at the line, while adding 10 boards.  USM got a team-high 23 points from junior Otis Smith.  Becker had a commanding 49-21 lead on the glass but committed 21 turnovers to just nine for USM.