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The Tufts Daily
Where you read it first | Friday, March 29, 2024

Tufts suffers close loss at WPI to go 3-2

2014-12-03-MBB-vs-WPI-6391
Tufts sophomore guard Everett Dayton goes for a reverse layup in Tufts' game against WPI on Dec. 3, 2014.

The Jumbos lost a tight game 85-70 to the No. 13 WPI EngineersTuesday night on the road, falling to 3-2 on the season, while the Engineers improved to 6-0. Led by senior forward Clyde Niba, WPI built up a lead that Tufts was not able to recover from.

Niba scored 30 points -- the most of either team -- followed by Tufts sophomore guard Vincent Pace, who scored 20 points, and WPI junior forward Ian Converse, who had 19 points. Niba's and Converse’s strong showings allowed the Engineers to jump out to an early lead.

"We got off to a bad start," senior tri-captain guard Stephen Haladyna said. "We got down in a 10-0 hole to start the game. We made a couple runs in the first half, but we gave up a run at the end of the first half to go down 16."

The Jumbos struggled with field goals, making only 20 of their 61 attempts for a measly 32.8 percent, while the Engineers managed to put 51.7 percent of their field goals in the basket. While the Jumbos' inability to make field goals contributed to their loss, they received a strong performance from their bench, which tallied 19 points. Sophomore guard Ben Engvall scored 12 of the 19 during his time on the floor.

Despite some concern about their shooting accuracy, senior center Zach Roswald is not focused on the numbers, but on the progress they can make.

"There are a couple things we can work on," Roswald said. "In terms of defense, there were a couple rebounds that didn't go our way; we need to get the ball and be able to take it down to the offensive end. Sometimes you just don't have it; we're a good shooting team, [so] I'm not too worried about it."

As a result of their strong rebounding and consistent free throws, the Jumbos were able to whittle the lead down to under 10 with just over two minutes remaining in the game, but the early advantage proved too much for the Jumbos to overcome.

Tuesday's game did not reflect the style of game the Jumbos are looking to play this year, according to Roswald.

"Our big focus this season has been running," Roswald said. "We've tried to be a fast paced team this year. Our main thing is to get the ball and push it ahead as fast as we can. Looking inside we've got a great post, and the key is just to run."

Prior to Tuesday's contest, the Jumbos played at Rhode Island College on Nov. 28, notching their third win of the season. Junior tri-captain center Tom Palleschi put up 23 points and seven rebounds in the 84-82 win.

The Jumbos scored the winning points with just 3.1 seconds lefts in the game when Haladyna scored a layup to put the Jumbos up. The game was a nail-biter to the very last second as the Anchormen’s first-year guard Jimmy Fritzontook a last minute 3 that would have put his team in the lead as time expired. However, the ball bounced off the rim to secure the Tufts victory.

To seniors like Roswald and Haladyna, each and every game matters.

"Every game this year means a lot," Haladyna said. "As seniors, we want to focus on every game because these will count at the end of the season. We want to make the NCAA tournament and win the NESCAC tournament, so every one of these games is huge for us."

Much like in the game against WPI, Tufts fell behind early to Rhode Island College. It found itself down 10 points early in the game and were down as much as seven points with 9:47 left in the game. The Jumbos were able to recover on the back of their strong showing in the paint, where they put up 52 of their 84 points. They also shot 56.9 percent on field goals and managed 32 rebounds in the victory.

Despite their win, the Jumbos will be focusing on avoiding point-deficits early on, as the team has been forced to fight from behind for most of their last two wins. No doubt the Jumbos will be looking to get the offense flowing earlier in future games.

The 3-2 Jumbos have lofty goals for their season, which they will keep in mind as they square off in the New England Big 4 Challenge at Salem State this weekend.