While most Tufts students spent their winter break relaxing and visiting friends and family, the men's basketball team was busy winning three out of five games, getting off to a perfect start and equaling their win total from all of last year.
The Jumbos, who have now won nine of their last 12 games to boost their record to 10-6, opened their NESCAC schedule well, defeating Colby and Bowdoin at Cousens Gymnasium.
"We played really well [over break]," senior tri-captain Jesse Belodoff said. "We're pretty young so there will be bumps and steps forward and backward all season, but overall, we're moving in the right direction."
Hosting Bowdoin on Jan. 15, the Jumbos jumped on the Polar Bears from the very opening whistle and never trailed, winning 82-65. Senior tri-captain Reggie Stovell scored on a layup just five seconds into the game, triggering a 7-0 run that would set the tone.
Bowdoin failed to find any rhythm as they shot just 22 percent from the floor in the first half. While they would turn it around in the second half, shooting 42.5 percent, the Polar Bears could not get closer than 13 points as the Jumbos put the game away with a 16-0 run triggered by two Stovell free throws with 11:19 left.
Stovell, who finished with 19 points against Bowdoin, played phenomenally all break, averaging 19.4 points and 9.6 rebounds over the course of the five-game stretch.
"He is our most valuable player," Belodoff said. "He should be NESCAC Player of the Year at this point. He is everything to us. He makes us go."
In the Jumbos' previous conference game against Colby, Stovell dropped in 17 points and added 13 rebounds in the Jumbos' 76-69 victory.
The Tufts offense, whose 83.1 points per game make the Jumbos the top scoring team in the NESCAC, did not have an easy time against Colby's No. 1 ranked defense.
While the Jumbos led 41-39 at the half, the Mules tightened the defensive screws in the second half, holding Tufts to only seven points in the first 6:40 and claiming a 59-48 lead.
With the Jumbos trailing 65-57 with 7:18 left in the ballgame, Stovell completed a three-point play, hitting a free throw after getting fouled on a layup. When Colby responded with a layup, Stovell hit a three-pointer to cut the lead to four. A three-pointer by freshman Ryan O'Keefe was followed by another Stovell basket to give the Jumbos a lead that they would not relinquish.
Suddenly, it was the Jumbos playing the tough defense, as the squad held Colby to eight points in the final 13:20.
"Defense [was the key to the run]," Belodoff said. "We're going to score points. We're an explosive team. It's always a question of whether we play defense. They missed some shots and we played really hard on defense."
After going on to win their two conference games after break, the Jumbos now hold a 4-0 conference record which puts them tied atop the NESCAC standings with Bates, with Amherst trailing a half-game behind with a 3-0 mark.
The Jumbos are excited about their start in conference.
"The rest of the season we kind of consider the preseason to the NESCAC," sophomore David Shepherd said. "We look at those nine NESCAC games as the real season. Everything else is just a test to make us better for the conference games."
The Jumbos could not follow up their conference success with a win on the road on Jan. 18 against red-hot Wheaton, winners of their last 10.
Scoring half their points off 13 Tufts turnovers, the Lyons jumped out to a 44-31 first half lead. The Jumbos did not quit, however, chipping away at the lead and cutting it to four with 15:25 left on a three-pointer by freshman Jake Weitzen.
They could get no closer, however, as the Lyons shot 50 percent in the second half and won the game 91-79.
The loss was the second in a row for the Jumbos on the road. While the 2003-2004 squad failed to win a single away game, this years' Jumbos compiled a 5-1 record away from Cousens Gym in their first six road games.
That streak was snapped, however, when the Jumbos lost to Brandeis 87-72 on Jan. 12.
The Jumbos were bombarded all game long by the Judges' three freshman starters who combined to score 61 points. Brandeis had a hot shooting night, going 58.6 percent from the floor, 42.9 percent from beyond the arc and 92.9 from the line.
Although Tufts fell short, junior Dan Martin had a big game for the Jumbos, scoring 13 points and grabbing 13 rebounds for the double-double. Over the five-game winter break stretch, Martin has averaged 11.6 points and 7.4 rebounds.
"He's come up huge," Shepherd said. "He's rebounding really well. Right now, he's coming into his own and really finding his place on the court."
The Jumbos started the break with a 116-97 triumph over UMass Boston. The scoring explosion was the Jumbos' greatest output since 1991.
"A lot of guys, especially the older ones, thought that was the most fun game," Shepherd said. "We fought and crawled our way to get above .500 before break and we didn't want to give that up."
