After winning the two games needed to take home the Charlie Ryan Classic at Thomas College, the men's basketball team started 2-0 for the first time in the NESCAC era. This is an encouraging sign for the program which hopes to surge into the top half of the conference.
The Jumbos defeated host Thomas on Saturday afternoon 84-71 for the title, after knocking off Newbury College 88-82 in the opener the night before. Senior forward Alex Orchowski earned the tournament MVP nod for his 35-point, 16-rebound weekend, but Tufts' depth was on display with seven players scoring in double digits on the road to the championship.
On Saturday, Tufts looked good from the start, jumping out to an early 11-4 lead with a three-pointer from senior tri-captain guard Amauris Quezada and four points from Orchowski. But the Terriers capitalized on some season-opening jitters from the Jumbos to battle back to a 23-22 lead 14 minutes into the first half. It wasn't until junior tri-captain forward Scott Anderson broke a 30-30 tie at 7:28 that the Jumbos took control, building up a nine-point lead. Despite a late run from the Terriers, Tufts went into half time up 43-39.
After the break, the Terriers sustained their momentum and cut the Jumbos' lead to two. But Tufts buckled down for the rest of the period, a marked improvement from the team's erratic second-half showings last year. In the next three minutes, the Jumbos scored eight unanswered points and built a comfortable 51-41 lead with just over 17 minutes to play.
"The biggest difference [from last year] is our mindset coming out of halftime," said sophomore guard Kwame Firempong, who added 10 points, 10 rebounds and six assists in his team-high 33 minutes on the court Saturday.
"A big key for us this season was to sustain a complete defensive effort for the entire game instead of in spurts. Being able to bring the energy defensively at all times is really critical in preventing teams from getting back in games," he said.
At the 6:52 mark, the Jumbos maxed out their lead at 17, an insurmountable margin so late in the game. Shortly after, Tufts walked off the court with an 84-71 championship win.
Five Jumbos posted double-digit points in Saturday's game, including three double-double performances. Anderson's 12 points and 11 rebounds and Orchowski's 17 and 11 bolstered Firempong's strong performance. Sophomore forward Tom Folliard and senior tri-captain forward James Long chipped in 14 and 13 points, respectively. And this was all in the absence of the team's starting point guard from last season, sophomore Oliver Cohen, who was out with an illness.
The night before, even more Jumbos chipped in to help dismiss Newbury College, 88-82. While Orchowski and Firempong were again stellar, netting 14 and 18 points, respectively, two freshmen got in on the double-digit action. Guard C.J. Moss went a perfect 2-for-2 from behind the arc and 5-for-6 from the line for 11 points in his 22-minute collegiate debut, while fellow first-year guard Ben Ferris put together a big opening game with 12 points and five steals.
"I think everyone was happy with the energy the freshmen brought onto the court," Orchowski said. "They're very talented and they work hard when they're out there. It's easy to play with anyone who can bring both of those things to a team."
Tufts' offense came out strong, and hot shooting enabled the Jumbos to build a 23-16 lead just past the midway point of the half. Meanwhile, the defense stifled Newbury, holding them to under 38 percent from the field.
At 4:26 to play, a layup from Ferris sparked an 8-0 Tufts run—which included back-to-back threes from the rookie—that left the Jumbos with their largest lead of the weekend, at 45-29 with just 3:07 before the half. The Nighthawks staged a meager comeback but Tufts headed to the locker room on top 48-37 after a jumper from Firempong just before the buzzer.
In the second half, the Jumbos held a slim lead from the 4:08 mark to around one minute to play, but each time the Nighthawks threatened, Orchowski or Firempong answered to save Tufts from an all-too-familiar late-game collapse. Then, after a layup from Ferris at 1:27, a combined 7-for-8 performance from the line from Firempong and Moss helped the Jumbos escape any threats before the clock expired.
"I think the most important thing we can take from these two wins is that if we can rebound and play solid defense, our team has a lot of potential," Orchowski said. "We did a great job scoring, but also learned that we have some things to tighten up on the defensive side of the ball."
On Tuesday, the Jumbos will look to continue their success at home against Regis College. Exactly one year ago, the Pride upset the Jumbos 81-63 in one of Tufts' worst defensive performances to date, as the Jumbos allowed the visitors to shoot at 62.7 percent while the offense committed 16 turnovers and saw only two players score over nine points.
This year, most of Tufts' roster is more experienced, but the Jumbos will have to avoid a close call like Friday's in order to enter the Thanksgiving break undefeated for the first time since the 2002-2003 season.
"The focus for tomorrow's game is to learn from the loss last year," Orchowski said. "We came out flat and played catch-up the rest of the game. We need to know that we cannot underestimate any of our opponents and need to come out and play well for a full 40 minutes."
