Opening burst dooms MCLA as they fall to Wesleyan 99-84

North Adams, MA- The visiting Wesleyan (CT) University Cardinals stormed out of the gates jumping out to a commanding 32-4 lead over the host MCLA Trailblazers en route to a convincing 99-84 victory.   Wesleyan improves to 3-2 while the Trailblazers drop to 0-3.

The Cardinals made 10 of their first 11 attempts from the floor as they jumped out to a quick 15-0 lead.  Wesleyan's Mike Callaghan had 7 points in the opening run, including a three pointer.  Julian Harris added five quick points as well.

After MCLA finally got on the board at the 15:59 mark making the score 15-2, the Cardinals went on a 17-2 run to grab the 32-4 edge.  Harris once again was the key to the spurt pouring in five more points while BJ Davis collected nine points in the run.  The lead hovered in the mid 20's before settling on 57-31 in favor of Wesleyan at halftime.

The advantage would balloon to as many as 34 in the second period as MCLA would never seriously threaten.  The closest they would get was the final margin.

The Cardinals placed five players in double figures led by Callaghan.  He poured in a team high 22 points on 7-12 shooting.  He also grabbed five rebounds and collected two steals.  Davis would finish with 19 points on 8-10 shooting off the bench.  Joining them in double figures were Harris with 16, and Avery Robinson and Derick Beresford each with 10.  Beresford and Harris finished with 5 assists each. 

The Cardinals shot 52% on the night, including 59% in the decisive opening frame.

For MCLA, John Jones had a game high 26 points in a losing effort.  He added 7 rebounds and 4 steals as well.  Bilal Shabazz chipped in with 15 points, all of them in the second half along with 6 steals.  Ruben DelRosario added 11 points off the bench for MCLA.

The Trailblazers were hurt by 24 turnovers on the night and shot 41% on the evening.

MCLA is off until Friday when they face Southern Vermont in the Tri State Shootout at RPI.