Coming off a 2003-04 season in which the Jumbos notched seven of their eight wins at home, Tufts has not found Cousens Gym so friendly this year.
The team has now dropped its first two games of the season at home.
In Sunday's match against undefeated Salem State, the Jumbos seemed poised to hang in there with the undefeated Vikings but could not stay in the game, as the Vikings ran away with the victory in the second half.
"Overall, I'm not happy that we lost, but out of 40 minutes we played well for 25 to 30 minutes against what will be one of the best teams in the region," coach Bob Sheldon said.
Indeed, when senior tri-captain guard Drew Kaklamanos hit a three-point shot with 12:49 left in the ballgame, the Jumbos only trailed by one at 68-67.
It did not stay close for long, though, as the Vikings went on an 11-0 run to put the game away for good, as the Jumbos would never get within 10 points for the rest of the game.
Tufts could not keep up with Salem's strong second half, in which it scored 58 points and shot 20 of 30 from the field.
The Vikings had four scorers account for 90 of their 104 points in the game, as senior guard Allen Reid led the way with 33 points.
Senior center Ifesinachi Anosike turned in a solid all-around performance for the Vikings, dropping in 26 points, grabbing 14 rebounds and blocking eight shots.
"We did a good job of battling [Anosike], but he was a very good player," senior tri-captain Jesse Belodoff said. "Sometimes you just get beat by a better team. Tonight they were [better]."
The Jumbos got off to a quick start in the ballgame, scoring the first 10 points. While the Vikings quickly got back into the game, 18 first-half points from sophomore Brian Kumf was enough to keep the Jumbos within three at the half at 46-43.
Kumf appeared to be on his way to another big half, putting back a miss by junior Dan Martin for a layup with 19:11 left in the ballgame. The sophomore, however, would not score again, finishing the night with 20 points.
Kaklamanos picked up the offensive slack in the second half, scoring 18 of his 20 points in that frame. The guard, who did not make a field goal in the first half, shot seven for eight in the second, nailing two threes and going a perfect 4-4 from the line.
Kaklamanos added two steals as the Jumbos were able to win the turnover battle for the first time all season.
"I thought we played a great game for 25 to 26 minutes, then let down a little bit," Belodoff said. "There are some positives to take away from it, but we're not looking for moral victories."
The loss to Salem State dropped the Jumbos to 1-3, having lost their home opener to Springfield College on Nov. 23 by a score of 88-77.
Playing on their home floor for the first time since returning from a trip to St. Louis, the Jumbos stayed close to the Pride throughout the first half and part of the second half but eventually succumbed to turnovers, foul trouble and poor free throw shooting.
"I wasn't really happy with how we played [against Springfield]," Sheldon said. "We played hard, just not
intelligently."
The Jumbos turned the ball over 20 times and made just six of their 15 free throws as the Pride capitalized on 24 of their 34 free throw opportunities. Many of the foul calls drew the protest of Jumbo players and coaches.
"There were some tough calls, but we can't blame it on the refs," Kumf said. "It all falls back to the fact that we didn't play defense. We played with our hands and not our feet."
The Jumbos battled foul trouble all night, as Kaklamanos and Kumf fouled out and three other players had four fouls.
"It's tough when a lot of our main players get in a little foul trouble," Kumf said. "We can't use it as an excuse. It was our fault. We've just got to learn from it."
The Jumbos hung in the game with the Pride, and freshman Jake Weitzen's three-pointer with 13:03 left in the ballgame pulled them within two at 56-54.
Tufts then watched as the Pride went on a 16-3 run to put the game out of reach. While a three pointer by sophomore Dave Shepherd with 1:30 left would pull the Jumbos within nine points, it was too little too late.
The Jumbos were led by senior Reggie Stovell, who compiled a team-high 13 points and 15 rebounds in the loss.
Tufts returns to action tomorrow night at MIT.
