After three straight victories, the men's basketball team continued its winning ways last night against Brandeis in Cousens Gym. The Jumbos placed five different players in double figures en route to a 92-80 thumping of the Judges. The win was the fourth in a row for Tufts, improving its record to 9-4 on the season while Brandeis fell to 5-7.
Coach Bob Sheldon's victory was led by junior Brian Shapiro's 24 points, as well as 21 points and 17 rebounds by freshman center Craig Coupe. Junior transfer student and leading scorer Mike McGlynn chipped in 19 points and four steals in his first game against his former team.
"It was really good for Mike," Sheldon said. "He played well, and it was nice to get him a win."
The Jumbos entered the game fired up and jumped out to a quick 21-12 lead. But the Judges promptly went on a 12-1 run and turned the deficit into a 24-23 lead with 10:30 remaining in the first half.
The momentum changed hands multiple time throughout the first half, and Brandeis went up 34-30 with 7:08 to play for their largest lead of the game. But a McGlynn three pointer at 4:27 gave Tufts the lead, 37-34, which it held on to for the remainder of the game.
A pair of three pointers by Shapiro and junior Lee Neugebauer sent the Jumbos into the second half with a 47-40 lead. The Judges wasted little time in reducing the deficit, moving to within one point at 55-54 with 14:25 remaining to play.
Tufts would score 12 of the game's next 15 points, however, including nine from McGlynn to go up 67-57 at 11:51. The Jumbos continued to build their lead over the Judges, as Shapiro found Coupe cutting through the paint for two points that put the Jumbos up 74-62. A three off the glass and lay-up from Shapiro gave Tufts its biggest lead of the game, 82-64 with 6:59 remaining.
Even so, Brandeis managed to stay within striking distance until the final minute. The Judges reduced the lead to single digits with just over two minutes remaining, but the perimeter game of the Jumbos ultimately proved to be much for the Judges to handle. A three by Shapiro with one minute left increased the margin to 89-77, and then another by Neugebauer put the final nail in the coffin.
The Jumbos won with five players in double-digits scoring and 49 percent shooting.
Tufts played the game without sophomore point guard Phil Barlow, who will be out for the rest of the season with a broken bone in his foot. The Jumbos will have adjust to compensate for the loss of Barlow's 10 points and 4.3 rebounds per game.
"Without Phil, we're just different," Sheldon said. "We can't score as much from that position, but we'll get more shots for Coupe and Brian and Mike."
Without the talented point guard, ball handling responsibilities will likely fall on Neugebauer and sophomore Eric Mack. The team will also have to rely more heavily on its two sharp shooters, Shapiro and McGlynn, as well as the inside presence of Coupe.
More shots for Coupe could certainly be beneficial for the team, as the freshman is averaging nearly 20 points in his last four games.
"[Coupe] is getting stronger and improving," Sheldon said. "The guys are looking in to him a lot more now."
The victory over Brandeis featured the Jumbos' run-and-gun style of play as well as a dominating inside game. The Jumbos attempted 26 shots from beyond the arc, but also had 21 points from the center. The team seems to be finding a nice balance between the two styles of play after appearing to rely on only one or the other earlier in the season.
"Part of it is that we're still young," Sheldon said. "Coming into the season, only Phil and Brian have really played in their positions before. McGlynn and Coupe are both totally new, and it takes a little while to get them in the system."
Tufts is finding the balance at a very good time in the season as the Jumbos enter a busy five weeks and begin play against NESCAC opponents. The squad hosts UMASS-Dartmouth on Thursday, and begins its NESCAC schedule on Saturday, facing off against Bates at home.
