Men's Basketball Defeated 88-76 by Wesleyan

Middletown, Conn. - Junior Shasha Brown scored 20 points, 18 during the second half, to become the fastest player in Wesleyan men's basketball history to reach 1,000 career points as Wesleyan overcame a 10-point deficit in each period to defeat Framingham State 88-76 this evening.

With Brown netting just two points in the first half, Framingham built a 24-14 edge with 10:53 to go in the period behind the stellar play of senior guard Marcus McLaurin (Braintree, Mass.).  McLaurin collected 16 points in the first half including eight in a row for the Rams as they constructed the 10-point bulge.  

Wesleyan countered with 11 consecutive points with senior Jason Mendell connecting on a pair of three-pointers, to take a 25-24 lead with 8:00 left.  The Rams scored the final four points of the period for a 41-37 edge at intermission.

Framingham scored the opening six points of the second half, four of them by sophomore Yemi Ajao (Randolph, Mass.), to retake a 10-point lead once again, 47-37, just two minutes into the frame.  

Again, the Cardinals countered, this time with a 10-0 run to knot the game at 47-47 at the 16:00 mark.  

Neither team led by more than three points over the next 11 minutes.  Wesleyan took the lead for good on a basket by Brown with 5:32 left, 69-68.  The fifth three-pointer of the game by Mendell (in six tries) advanced the margin to 72-68 with 4:55 to go, then the largest lead of the game for the Cardinals.  Mendell finished as the game's high scorer with 22 points.  

A basket by junior Mike Callaghan and a three-pointer by Brown allowed Wesleyan to move ahead, 77-69, with 3:00 remaining.  The Rams got no closer than seven down the stretch as Wesleyan went 9-for-10 at the free-throw line in the final two minutes with Brown's charity striper at the 1:23 mark giving him 1,000 for his career.  He now has 1,002 as the 18th male player in Wesleyan history to reach the coveted plateau.  Prior to Brown, Kanim Johnson had been the fastest Cardinal to surpass 1,000 career points, doing so in his 66th game.  Brown has played 54 games and also is just the fourth Wesleyan male to reach 1,000 points as a junior.

McLaurin led the Rams with 19 points on 6-of-13 shooting from the floor, while sophomore Tyrone Figueroa (Revere, Mass.) chipped in 11 and Ajao added 10.  

Sophomore Glen Thomas had a double-double for Wesleyan with 10 points and a game-high 10 rebounds.  Junior Derick Beresford also hit double-digit scoring with 12 points for the Cardinals.

Wesleyan will be on the road Thurs., Dec. 1 for its next game at Emmanuel College.  Framingham St. is off until Tues., Dec. 6 when the Rams host Wheaton College at 6 p.m.

Release courtesy of Wesleyan Sports Information.