MIDDLETOWN, Conn. - In a game that had degenerated into a free throw shooting contest, the team that shot 20 more free throws ended up winning.

No surprise there.

It kept Bard from pulling off a real surprise on Tuesday at Wesleyan, where it led for much of the game before falling late, 66-58. The Cardinals made 28-of-37 from the foul line, including 10-of-12 in the final six minutes, to pull it out. Bard made 11-of-17 in the entire game.

Bard (1-3) got off to a flying start. Seven of the Raptors' first eight shots were three-pointers, and five of them went in. Wesleyan (3-0) hung in there, got close, then took its first lead with three seconds left in the first half. It was 32-31 in favor of the hosts at the break. The Cardinals were shooting just 30 percent from the field and 6-foot-8 senior Joseph Kuo (New York, NY), who was averaging 18 points and 13 rebounds per game coming into Tuesday, had three points, two rebounds and two fouls at halftime.

Though Bard's hot shooting from distance cooled, the Raptors still built a small lead in the second half. They still did a great job on the boards, and they still carefully managed their foul trouble. They pushed the lead to six, which was a big lead in this game, with 8:46 to go, on a pair of free throws by Pat Kelly.

Wesleyan senior Harry Rafferty (Portsmouth, NH) made three-pointers on consecutive trips to tie it, and that when the free throw contest started. The teams combined to score 11 points over the next five minutes, and Wesleyan was up three. A put-back by David Runcie with 2:28 left cut Wesleyan's tiny lead to 57-56. With 1:43 left, it was 59-58, as both teams made a pair of free throws. But Bard didn't score again.

Rafferty provided the dagger with a three-pointer to make it 62-58 with 1:20 remaining, and that was just about insurmountable in this one. Four Cardinal free throws closed out the scoring.

Nathan Krill (Saint Helena, CA) led the hosts with 16 points; Jordan Sears (Plainfield, NJ) added 10 points. Kuo finished with one field goal, eight points and two rebounds.

Jelani Bell-Isaac had a career-high 13 points to lead Bard. Bard outrebounded Wesleyan, 45-38, but had nobody in double figures. Armando Dunn led the way with seven, to go with six points and four blocks.

Bard is off for the Thanksgiving break, but will play three games next week: At Mount St. Mary on Tuesday, at Hartwick on Thursday, and home against Trinity on Saturday. Live Stats are available for Tuesday's game, and Live Stats and Live Video are available for the other two games. Follow them all right here if you can't make it.