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The Tufts Daily
Where you read it first | Friday, March 29, 2024

Jumbos fall to Brandeis on last second shot

Brandeis freshman center Patrick Collier took a pass from sophomore Glenn Wright and laid the ball in off the glass as time expired to deliver a heartbreaking loss to the men's basketball team 72-70 last Tuesday night. The loss, their second in a row, dropped the Jumbos back to .500 overall on the season at 8-8. However, their 2-1 conference record and 4th place standing in the NESCAC still remains intact as Brandeis is a non-conference opponent.

"We really did not play well last night," coach Bob Sheldon said. "It was not a game of X's and O's, we just weren't ready to play. We looked uninspired"

The Jumbos came out hot, scoring ten of the game's first 12 points. But Brandeis clawed its way back, scoring nine straight to take a one point lead with 13:39 left in the first frame. The Judges continued their hot shooting through the rest of the first half, and leading by as many as 12 at one point, and went into the intermission with a 39-30 lead.

"We did not play very well in the first," Sheldon said. "We got down by nine, and we started to play better with our backs to the wall because we felt a sense of urgency."

The Jumbos stormed out of the gates for the first part of the second session. They outscored the Judges 21-11 to take a 51-50 lead with just under 11 minutes to play in the game. The lead see-sawed back and forth for the remainder of the game, with each team going up by as many as only four points. Brandeis took a four-point lead with 2:14 left on the clock on easy lay-ups by juniors Jon Marks and Tim Deihl. Freshmen forward Blaine Lay and sophomore center Craig Coupe quickly responded for the Jumbos, tying the game up with just over a minute to play.

With 34 seconds to play, Collier capitalized on an offensive rebound and was fouled by Lay. He sunk the free throw to give the Judges a three point lead. However, on the ensuing play, Tufts senior guard Mike McGlynn, who starred at Brandeis for two seasons, sank a jumper from downtown to tie things at 70 apiece. After two timeouts, with just nine seconds left, Collier put the moves on a Jumbo defender on the baseline and banked the ball in for the victory.

"We let a team that I feel we were better than stay with us throughout the game," Sheldon said. "And to see that last second shot go in, it was tough."

The loss marked the first time in four years that Tufts has fallen to Brandeis.

Coupe tallied game highs with 18 points and 14 rebounds in 29 minutes of play. The Jumbos shot 42 percent from the field in the game, but were just 57 percent (17/30) from the line and a lowly 21 percent (3/14) from behind the arc.

The loss comes in preparation for an important NESCAC weekend for the Jumbos, who are slated to face first place Amherst this Friday night at home. The Lord Jeffs, who are 15-2 overall (4-0, NESCAC), are coming off an upset over the then first place Williams Ephs, making them the number one ranked team in New England.

The weekend does not get any easier after Amherst, as Tufts will try to avenge last year's loss when they face the Trinity Bantams on Saturday afternoon at Cousens. The Bantams are currently ranked third in the conference with a 3-1 record (11-5, overall) and have won five of their past six ballgames, with the only loss coming last weekend to Williams.

"We have not played at home for seven straight games, so I think finally playing at Cousens Gym will give us the excitement we need to play a competitive game," Sheldon said. "Because when we are energized and playing up to our potential, we are as good as anybody in New England."