Men's basketball now 14–4 after win over Bates, loss to New England College

After a thrilling 76–72 win over Bates on Saturday, the men’s basketball team saw its three-game winning streak come to an end after losing 59–56 to New England College (NEC) on Tuesday. With the loss, the Jumbos now stand at 14–4 on the season overall, while they remain undefeated, 4–0, in NESCAC play.

Going into the game against NEC at Henniker, N.H., Tufts expected that it was going to be a challenging out-of-conference matchup.

“They like to get out and run," assistant coach Stephen Haladyna said. "They’re a good team, they haven’t lost at home yet this season, so it’s a tough place to play.”

Despite holding the Pilgrims — who average 88.9 points per game —  to just 59 points, the Jumbos turned the ball over 23 times. After coming out of halftime down 34–27, a 3-point shot from first-year guard Dylan Thoerner with about 12 minutes left in the game gave the Jumbos’ their first lead of the night.

A series of missed shots and turnovers allowed the Pilgrims to retake a 46–41 lead with nine-and-a-half minutes left.With less than a minute to play, junior center Luke Rogers brought the Jumbos within three points after flushing a dunk to make the score 59–56.

On the following possession, junior guard Brennan Morris had a chance to tie the game with 11 seconds left but missed the 3-point attempt. Sophomore guard Tyler Aronson grabbed the rebound and kicked it out to senior guard and co-captain Eric Savage for one last chance to tie the game. With five seconds left, Savage’s last-ditch attempt narrowly sealed the victory for the Pilgrims.

Overall, sophomore guard Jamal Allen of NECled all scorers with 16 points on six for 13 shooting, while Morris led Tufts in scoring with 13 points on five for 12 shooting.

On Saturday, Tufts extended its undefeated NESCAC play after its narrow victory over Bates.

The Bobcats, who came into the game 9–6 overall and 2–1 in NESCAC matchups, went up 34–29 after a back-and-forth first half.

Bates’ first half lead was erased by Tufts' 47 points in the second half.The Jumbos were led by Savage, who finished the game with 21 points, 11 rebounds and two assists. Rogers also added 20 points and 17 rebounds.

Savage credited the tight win to his teammates’ efforts and the team’s chemistry.

“I think [that] down the stretch my friends and I came together to make the necessary plays to win," Savage said. "[Junior guard and co-captain] Will [Brady] and [junior guard] Justin [Kouyoumdijan] fueled a big run in the middle of the second half and then of course [Aronson] made a huge shot for us in the final minute. Overall, it was our friendship and commitment to staying together in order to make plays down the stretch to get the win.”

Kouyoumdijan and Brady both hit timely 3-pointers in the second half, adding to the Jumbos' comeback: Kouyoumdijan scored six straight points to bring the Jumbos within five points with 10 minutes left, and Brady proceeded to hit a 3-pointer, shrinking the deficit to two with nine minutes left.

Coach Bob Sheldon praised the team for sticking together down the stretch and believing in themselves, despite only shooting only 42.5% from the field.

"I was most happy that we stayed together as a team and when we weren’t shooting well, the defense did step up and when we had to make stops, we made stops," Sheldon said. "When we weren’t making shots, we started to rush them instead of … [trusting] the system a little bit. I think in the second half we were really starting to trust it — what we have — and trust each other.”

Savage exemplified this sense of trust at the end of the game. With about 15 seconds left and the Jumbos down by one, Savage drove to the hoop. Instead of forcing a layup through the arms of two Bates defenders, he hung under the hoop in midair and kicked out a pass to Aronson. Aronson caught it, quickly set his feet and sunk the 3-point shot to put the Jumbos up 74–72. Tufts held onto this lead and secured the 76–72 victory with two free throws from sophomore guard Carson Cohen.

Sheldon especially appreciated this win because it provided the team with a challenge throughout the entire game.

“That was a good game for us because it was the first real game of the year that came right down to the last minute, and even though we weren’t shooting that well, we came together with our defense and did what we had to do to win the game," Sheldon said. "It was good to have a situation that we haven’t had and be able to come out on top.”

The team takes the court on Friday when they host Bowdoin at 7 p.m., and then on Saturday when they host Colby at 3 p.m.