Skip to Content, Navigation, or Footer.
The Tufts Daily
Where you read it first | Friday, March 29, 2024

Tufts goes undefeated in weekend games

s112414BasketballPhoto
The men's basketball team earned its first two wins of the season this weekend against Emerson and Wentworth.

After dropping the first two games of the season on the road, the Tufts men’s basketball team returned to the court this weekend with games on Friday night at home against Emerson and on Saturday at Wentworth Institute of Technology. The Jumbos prevailed in both contests, improving their season record to 2-2.

On Saturday afternoon, the Jumbos pulled out a tough road win over Wentworth, 58-51. Leading the team in scoring was first-year guard Vincent Pace with 12 points off the bench. Joining Pace in double figures for the game were sophomore guard Tarik Smith and sophomore center Hunter Sabety, each with 11 points. Smith added three assists and Sabety added eight rebounds and four steals. After a back-and-forth first half that featured many lead changes, Tufts headed to the locker room holding a 28-24 lead. The second half proved to be just as competitive, as the Jumbos' lead was cut to three points with 7:43 left in the game, after Wentworth first-year guard Sam Knollmeyer knocked down two free throws. Tufts quickly went on a 6-2 run to extend the lead to seven points, and six pivotal free throws from Smith down the stretch sealed the win. Tufts' bench outscored the Wentworth bench by a margin of 25-8.

“Our bench is really important for us to win games,” Sabety said. “The fact that they outscored [the] Wentworth bench by such a large margin sealed the win for us. A great team has to have a great bench behind them to keep the tempo that the starters bring, and we have players on the bench who go all out when they get in and make a big impact on the game.”

The win over Wentworth was the second of the season for the Jumbos. The first came on Friday night at Cousens Gymnasium against the Emerson Lions. After leading by just five points at halftime, Tufts pulled away in the second half en route to a 70-49 victory. From the 10:50 mark in the second half to the 4:18 mark, Tufts went on a 22-0 run to stretch its lead from 40-37 to 62-37. Thirteen Jumbos scored in the game, led by 10 each from senior tri-captain Ben Ferris and sophomore tri-captain Tom Palleschi. Palleschi also hauled in 10 rebounds, and in the process earned his second double-double of the young season.

“We broke the game open by communicating on defense and being very active in our zone,” junior tri-captain Stephen Haladyna said. “We started to play together on offense and move the ball around, which let us break the game open.”

The 22-0 run began with a layup from sophomore Drew Madsen and was followed by two key 3-pointers from Ferris and four points each from Palleschi and junior Ryan Spadaford, who returned to the lineup after recovering from an ankle injury. Spadaford had nine points and three steals off the bench.

“It was very important to have Spadaford back in the lineup because he's a great shooter and a big energy guy for us,” Haladyna said. “He's always ready to play, which helps us out a lot when we’re lacking energy.”

Another key to the Jumbos’ success was the home crowd. It was the first home game of the season, and the team was excited to return to Cousens Gym after playing as the visiting team for the first two games.

“When the crowd gets loud and into the game, it gets us energized and gives the team that little push to put the team away,” Sabety said.

After giving up an average of 72.5 points per game over its first two games, the team has clamped down defensively and gave up an average of 50 points against Emerson and Wentworth.

“A big key with our defense is talking and communicating with our other players and letting them know where their help is and where the offense is,” Sabety said. “Our zone has been slowly getting better, and when our big men can communicate with our guards, it's a hard defense for the opposing team to penetrate in.”

After winning two games in a row, Tufts has confidence heading into its next game, on the road again, at MIT on Tuesday evening. The Engineers entered the season as the 16th ranked team in the nation, and the Jumbos will get an early opportunity to prove they belong with Div. III’s elite.

“Now that we've won two games in a row, and one on the road, we are very confident going forward,” Haladyna said. “We're trying to focus on staying confident against every team that we play while knowing that we have to bring all of our effort in every game as well.”

As has been the message all season long, the Jumbos are trusting the process as the season progresses.