The men's basketball team came within just seconds of an appearance in the Elite Eight on Friday night.
In the end, however, the Jumbos' dream season came up short, as an off-balance heave from sophomore guard Andrew Olson found its way into the bottom of the net, giving the Lord Jeffs the momentum they needed to emerge with a victory.
For a Tufts team making its first-ever Sweet 16 appearance, a loss like that could have been absolutely devastating. But the members of the team were quick to put the game into perspective.
Coming off of perhaps the most memorable loss in team history, the Jumbos were gracious in defeat and had nothing but praise for their captains, teammates and fans. In the final game of their college basketball careers, senior tri-captains Dan Martin and Brian Fitzgerald led their team on and off the court, as they have done throughout the entire season.
"To go from 8-17 two years ago to setting a school record with 23 wins and going to a Sweet Sixteen, they were as big a part of it as anybody," junior tri-captain Dave Shepherd said.
Despite both players turning in sub-par games offensively (Martin shot 3-of-15 for 11 points, well below his season average, and Fitzgerald scored just once from the floor to finish with four points) both players received a strong showing of respect from their teammates after Friday's loss.
"They're great captains and unbelievable teammates," said junior forward Brian Kumf, who finished with a team-leading 21 points. "We're all best friends. I can't put into words what they mean to this program."
Martin, the only Jumbo to finish his fourth season of Tufts basketball in 2006, had a tough game against the Amherst defense, as the Jeffs' defenders double-teamed Tufts' leading scorer. Despite his troubles on the offensive end, Martin nabbed 11 rebounds to lead the team.
"He's a battler," coach Bob Sheldon said of Martin. "Dan carried us all year; Dan got us to this point. And maybe it won't show up in the stat line, but he was the man tonight."
"Dan is literally everything," Fitzgerald added. "He's our best player on the floor. He's our rock. Our whole offense is surrounding him. We feed off of him offensively, defensively, emotionally, everything. I can't say enough about him. He's an amazing player and an amazing person. It's going to be tough to lose him."
The positive energy that fueled the postseason run came not only from the leadership of the team's captains, but also from the support of its fans.
"This was a great atmosphere," Sheldon said. "To have that many people from Tufts come out, to drive two hours, and to be that vocal throughout the game ... it's unbelievable, for us and for Tufts sports."
Amherst's LeFrak Gymnasium holds 1,400 fans, and the Tufts athletic department was given just 230 of the tickets for Friday night's games. But the 230 Tufts supporters who turned out were thunderous in their support. At times, the Tufts contingent drowned out the intensely passionate Amherst home crowd.
"We have amazing fans," Fitzgerald said. "That was the best road crowd I've seen in a long time, no doubt. We can't ask for any more from them. They came out in full force and they were screaming - it was great."
While the loss was a devastating one, the Tufts men's basketball community will recover, thanks to the strong bonds that have been formed among these 15 men this season.
"I just can't show enough love for my teammates," Martin said. "They're going to have a great season next year."
