The men's basketball team went to Hamilton Friday night knowing that a win would mean a chance to hold the No. 3 seed in the NESCAC, a remarkable achievement for a team that finished last in the conference just two seasons ago. But the Jumbos came up short against a Hamilton team that needed the win even more urgently than they did.
With a 67-64 victory the Continentals clinched the final seed in the NESCAC tournament in their first season in the league.
The Jumbos, who end their NESCAC season at 6-4, will now have the No. 4 seed in the conference tournament and will host fifth-seeded Bates in the first round on Saturday. As it turns out, the Jumbos would have held the fourth seed even if they had defeated Hamilton on Friday, since Wesleyan won its last two games to finish at 7-3 in the conference and held the tiebreaker advantage over Tufts.
Like so many of the Jumbos' games this season, Friday's contest came right down to the wire. This time, though, the Jumbos could not come out on top. A jumper by junior forward Ken Click put the Continentals ahead 65-64 with just 1:08 remaining, and after a missed layup by sophomore guard KwameFirempong, Hamilton was able to hold on for the victory.
The Jumbos have now played 11 games decided by six points or less this season, posting a 6-5 record in those nailbiters.
"It's been a mix, because against Trinity we won at the buzzer on a shot by Kwame but we obviously lost this game to Hamilton," senior tri-captain forward James Long said of the team's performance in tight contests. "You never want to be in a close game. We definitely have lost to some teams that we feel we could have beaten."
The difference in the game was Tufts' inconsistency on offense, some of which was caused by Hamilton's frenetic defensive effort. Although the Jumbos are last in the conference in scoring defense, giving up 69 points per game, they also score 75.7 points on average. The Continentals held them to just 64 points on 41 percent shooting.
"At times, we just forced the issue and got away from what we do well," Long said. "When we were scoring, we were getting out in transition and getting some easy baskets, but then our offense got a little stagnant and we stopped scoring."
Tufts had just two players with double-digit point totals, a sign of offensive problems for a team that usually spreads out its scoring more evenly, with four players averaging at least 9.9 points per game on the season. This lack of balance, coupled with a 58 percent effort from the free throw line, spelled trouble for the Jumbos, who trailed by 11 with 6:11 to go in the first half.
"They played some zone [defense], which threw us off a little bit, but it was also just a matter of shots not falling for us," senior forward Alex Orchowski said. "We just didn't shoot a high percentage, and we didn't get good shots at times. It was really a combination of things."
Despite their offensive struggles, the Jumbos led by as many as seven points in the second half, as they were able to convert several easy baskets, including an emphatic dunk by Orchowski. But the Continentals came storming back. Senior Pat Sullivan led the charge, scoring 12 second-half points to finish with a game-high 23.
Freshman guard Joseph Lin — the younger brother of New York Knicks sensation Jeremy Lin — chipped in two points and two assists in six minutes of action for Hamilton.
The Jumbos will wrap up their regular season tonight at Cousens Gym against non-conference opponent Clark University, before setting their sights on Saturday's NESCAC quarterfinal against Bates — their first home playoff game since 2006.
When the Jumbos played Bates on Jan. 28, they won 67-62 behind a solid defensive effort. But defense has been the team's Achilles' heel all season long and improving it will be the focus this week.
"We need to communicate a lot better, and rebounding is something we still need to tighten up a bit," Orchowski said. "It's a lot of small things that we need to work on heading into the Bates game."
With one regular-season game and at least one tournament game still remaining, the Jumbos have already won 16 games in their most successful campaign since 2005-06. But the team isn't satisfied yet.
"We've definitely taken a huge step, and as upperclassmen we know how far the program's come," Long said. "But at the same time, we still have goals that we want to accomplish, and that doesn't make the loss to Hamilton any better. Looking back, I'm sure it'll be nice to see the steps we've taken, but we've still got to stay focused until the end of the season."
