This time, however, Wesleyan returned the favor and beat the Jeffs in their own gym 98-89. The Cardinals dominated the game throughout, never trailing.
The Cardinals jumped out to a 12-point lead early in the first half, but the Jeffs battled back in the half and at half they only trailed by two.
After the break the Cardinals widened their lead, quickly increasing it to 11, but again the Jeffs battled back. The Jeffs ran off a quick 8-2 run, highlighted by John Donovan's '04 three-pointer that narrowed the gap to five.
Leo Jones then took over for the Cardinals, and Wesleyan increased their lead to 16-points with 4:36 remaining. Jones led all scorers with 25 points and added a game high 11 rebounds and seven assists.
For the next three minutes both teams battled evenly, and with 1:09 left in the game the Jeffs trailed 91-78. With little time remaining the Jeffs made a last gasp run, and with a flurry of baskets falling the Jeffs closed to within five. Adam Harper '04 sank two huge three-pointers, and sophomores Steve Zieja and Suli Jenkins hit buckets during the run.
But the difference over the final minutes came when Wesleyan was at the charity stripe. The Cardinals hit 60 percent of their foul shots in the game, including their final six to seal the game.
Tri-captain Erik Kelly '01 launched a last gasp jumper for the Jeffs, but it fell short and the Cardinals grabbed the rebound. From there Wesleyan was able to dribble out the remaining seconds in the game and walk out of Lefrak Gym with a hard-earned road win.
Zieja led the Jeffs with 22 points, but uncharacteristically Zieja-shooting 52.8% from the floor on the season-was only six for 16 from the floor. Tri-captain Brian Daoust '01 added 19 points and Harper hit four three-pointers for all 12 of his points. Sophomore point guard Ryan Faulkner added seven assists for the Jeffs.
After their home loss the Jeffs bounced back with a big win. Coming off of a two-game losing streak in the NESCAC Amherst beat Conn. College 86-68. After an uncharacteristic night from the floor against the Cardinals, the Jeffs bounced back against the Camels, placing four players in double digits and shooting over 50% from the floor.
Harper-who for most of the season has been a defensive specialist-continued his improved offensive play. Harper poured in a season-high 21 points on eight-for-11 shooting.
In the first half the Jeffs played well, but until the final minutes they were unable to shake the Camels. With 1:40 remaining in the half the Jeffs led by three, but behind two buckets by Pat Taverna '02 and one from Tri-captain Abe Sexson '01 the Jeffs increased their lead to eight, 48-40.
In the second half, the Jeffs strung together two strong runs to put the Camels away. To start off the half the Jeffs went on an 11-2 run, and later the team added an 18-3 run.
Foul trouble was the only thing that could hold the Jeffs back in the second half, as Daoust, Faulkner and Zieja each committed their fourth foul with twelve minutes remaining. But with their stars sitting on the bench, the reserves stepped up and continued the attack.
Last night the Jeffs played their final home game of the season against Brandeis University.
Kelly stepped up to take on Brandeis, notching 13 points, four assists and four steals to lead the Amherst hosts to the 79-63 win, leaving the Jeff record at 16-5 heading into the final spurt of the regular season.
The Jeffs go on the road for their next game on Friday against Bowdoin College at 7 p.m. They will go on to play Colby the next day before beginning their NECAC tournament on Tuesday of next week.