MIDDLETOWN, Conn. (December 13, 2025) – The Western New England men's basketball team played its final game of the 2025 calendar year, a memorable year in program history, but it ended with a loss on the road at 25^th-ranked Wesleyan University, falling by a final score of 75-65. 

Records:

• Western New England: 7-3
• No. 25 Wesleyan University: 8-2

How it Happened:

First Half:

• Wesleyan came into the action ranked 25^th overall by D3hoops.com and was the overall top team in the nation for much of last season, and started that way to open the game against the Golden Bears when Ben Lyttie hit a three. The opening bucket didn't deter Western New England, who saw Matt Houde and Luka Vlajkovic get on the board to help WNE to its first lead of the game early on. The teams stayed within a possession of the lead, with Vlajkovic leading the WNE offense with five points in the first seven minutes overall, seeing the Golden Bears lead 11-10. 
• The midway point of the game saw Eddie McCoy cash in a three to extend the lead to three before Wesleyan hit the next eight points, sparking the first true run of the game that got the home team its largest lead of the half thus far, leading 21-16. WNE came within one again with 4:19 to play when Vlajkovic put down back-to-back triples for the Golden Bears with a Wesleyan layup in between that brought the hosts' lead down to one, 23-22. 
• Western New England took the lead with three minutes remaining in the half when Avery Mickens got on the board with a triple, giving the Golden Bears a 25-23 lead. From there, it would be all Cardinals to close out the half, as Wesleyan sunk three triples in a row and ended the half of scoring the same way they started the half, with a Lyttie bucket, giving Wesleyan a 34-25 lead. 
• WNE shot 36% from the field in the opening half, hitting five of their 16 threes. The Golden Bears were a mediocre 4/9 from down low. Only two free throws were taken in the opening half, both by WNE. Wesleyan shot a respectable 46% from the field in the half, going 6/13 from the outside. 

Second Half:

• Western New England let Wesleyan's late first-half run sink into the second half, and could never recover. Ironically, Wesleyan's first points of the half came on free throws after having none in the opening half, with Lyttie hitting again to start the scoring for the Cardinals. Nate Kasper had WNE's first hoop of the half, but Wesleyan continued to pressure the Golden Bears' defense, going on a run that brought their lead to as many as 13 with 16:47 to play in the second half. 
• WNE brought the game back within single digits following points from Kasper and McCoy while the two teams exchanged four straight possessions of scores, still seeing Wesleyan lead by ten with 12 minutes of play remaining. Wesleyan's lead shot up to as many as 18 with half the game remaining following another scoring run that saw the Cardinals lead 56-38. The Golden Bears battled through the Cardinals' big lead and got the game down to 12 with 6:18 to play following a triple from Matt Houde, who was up to nine points following the make, forcing a timeout from Wesleyan. 
• The Golden Bears saw the Cardinals begin to pull away again following the Houde triple, as Wesleyan's lead was back up to 16 with 5:08 to play, as Lyttie got hot from the field. Avery Mickens continued to be hot from both the inside and outside while Nate Kasper produced a pair of free throws with 3:07 to play, getting the Blue and Gold back within eight with 2:31 left as WNE looked to come all the way back on Wesleyan.
• Wesleyan had the answer for Western New England's run, coming up with late free throws to ice the game. The Cardinals took 12 free throws in the second half and hit them all, on their way to a 75-65 win over the Golden Bears. Both teams were good shooters in the second half, WNE hitting 52% of their shots and Wesleyan 54%. 

Inside the Lines:

• Luka Vlajkovic led the Golden Bears with 21 points off 6/12 shooting and 3/6 from downtown. Vlajkovic also recorded eight rebounds, a block, and a steal in the losing effort. 
• Avery Mickens continues to be a factor in the WNE offense, grabbing 15 points on 6/7 shooting, going 3/4 from the outside, while collecting three rebounds, an assist, and a steal. 
• Eddie McCoy was also in double figures on Saturday, scoring ten points, picking up nine rebounds, three assists, and two steals. 
• As a team, the Golden Bears shot 44% overall and made eight of 23 triples. Wesleyan picked up a 50% shooting percentage while hitting seven triples in the game. 
• WNE held a lead for just 4:44 in the game. The Golden Bears had 19 turnovers in the game overall. 

Up Next on the Schedule:

• WNE will break for the upcoming holidays and return to action on Saturday, January 3 at 3:00 PM on the road for a Conference of New England contest at Gordon College.