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

Men's basketball defeats Hamilton in NESCAC quarterfinals

mbball
Senior Eric Savage shoots a free throw at the NESCAC quarterfinals game against Hamilton College in Cousens Gym on Feb. 22, 2020.

When the men's basketball team successfully scores from all three levels, they’re very difficult to beat. That’s what happened Saturday afternoon at Cousens Gym as No. 1 seed Tufts defeated No. 8 Hamilton 83–66 in the quarterfinals of the NESCAC tournament. 

Sophomore guard Tyler Aronson got the scoring started on the first possession of the game, draining a 3-pointer off an assist from sophomore guard Carson Cohen.

“For the past couple weeks my shot hasn’t been as it usually is," Aronson said. "Hitting that first one and having my teammates have confidence in me and trust in me was great. Getting off to the right start gave me a lot of confidence for the rest of the game."

For the next two plus minutes, both teams played uptempo, albeit sloppy basketball. Aronson came away with a steal only to have his pocket picked in transition seconds later by Hamilton senior guard and co-captain Sayo Denloye, who then missed a fast break layup. On the next Tufts possession, Aronson shuffled his feet and was called for a traveling violation, again turning the ball back over to Hamilton. 

A few possessions later, junior guard Brennan Morris found junior center Luke Rogers, sealing his defender in the paint. Rogers caught the post entry pass from Morris, squared his body to the basket and took advantage of a considerable size advantage to convert the bucket, extending the lead to 50. Hamilton quickly responded with a 3-pointer from sophomore guard/forward Eric Anderson on the next possession. Consecutive layups from senior guard and co-captain Eric Savage and junior center and co-captain Max Oppenheim stretched the Jumbo lead to 93. 

After a missed 3-pointer from Hamilton, Savage was at it again. He received the ball on the left side of the court and with a defender draped all over him and made his way around to the right side of the key. After finally finding a slight crease to the basket, Savage banked home a layup through contact, giving him an and one. On Tufts’ next offensive possession, Savage began to drive in before snapping a quick crossover dribble. The defender, likely anticipating another drive to the hoop, went flying and Savage made him pay by calmly draining the pull-up jumper. 

While Tufts had begun to find offensive success through Savage, Hamilton converted only one field goal in the first six plus minutes of play. A layup from senior guard and co-captain Kena Gilmour ended the drought and sparked an 80 Hamilton run that cut Tufts’ lead to 1411. That was the closest Hamilton would get. 

With contributions from several Jumbos, including Aronson, Rogers, Morris, Savage and first-year guard Dylan Thoerner, Tufts went up 3723 going into halftime. 

The beginning of the second half could have been coined the Luke Rogers show.” The center repeatedly took advantage of mismatches against Hamilton’s undersized defense. On Tufts’ first possession after the break Rogers grabbed an offensive rebound off of a Cohen miss and laid it in for two. On the next possession, Rogers corralled another offensive board off of a Savage miss and was fouled on the put back attempt, and he converted one of the two free throws. Rogers lost his defender when Tufts regained possession, and Aronson found him underneath for a two-handed dunk. On Tufts’ fourth possession of the half, Rogers got another paint touch. He worked through a double team and got fouled on a shot attempt. Again, Rogers knocked down one of the two free throw attempts. With no answer for the big man, Hamilton sent three players after Rogers when he touched the ball the next time down the floor. Rogers still threw a shot up, but just missed it off the back rim.

After scoring Tufts’ first seven points of the half, Rogers earned a well-deserved rest. But Oppenheim came into the game and scored four quick points in just under two minutes, before Rogers came back into the game.

“They’re two of the best bigs in the NESCAC, and they really get at it in practice” Savage said of Rogers and Oppenheim. “We identified that mismatch in the scout the week before, and we knew they had nobody who could stop our post play.”

Aronson made the lead 6642 with 11:18 to go. The mid-range game is often emphasized less than threes and layups, but the pull-up jumper might be Aronson’s most deadly offensive weapon.

“Growing up, my dad always told me the midrange is the lost art of the game," Aronson said. "I always worked on it in my driveway, and it developed from there. It’s my favorite shot in the game."

After Aronson’s bucket, Hamilton went on a 121 run that saw Tufts’ lead cut to 13 points. Denloye scored the final seven points of the run for Hamilton — his only points of the game. Morris got Tufts back on track with a 3 off an assist from Cohen. After a Hamilton turnover, Savage canned a 3 of his own making the lead 7354 with just under seven minutes remaining. After shooting just one of four from three in the first half, the Jumbos caught fire from behind the arc in the second, making six threes on 13 attempts. 

“I think my friends and I do a great job scoring at all three levels," Savage said. "Luke Rogers garners a ton of attention in the post and that opens up the 3-point line. Once we start hitting our 3s they kind of have to close out and run us off the line. Then that opens up the midrange game."

In the last few minutes, Tufts did not let up by any means. With the game easily in hand, Savage leaped over his team’s bench to save a loose ball before hopping back onto the court and hustling down to the other end. 

The final score was 83–66. Savage led the balanced Tufts offense with 20 points. Aronson (15 points), Rogers (13 points) and Morris (10 points) joined him in double figures. Thoerner and Oppenheim each chipped in nine points off the bench. Eric Anderson (19 points) and Kena Gilmour (16 points) led Hamilton in scoring.

Tufts hosts Trinity this Saturday at 5 p.m. in the semifinal. The winner of that game will play for the championship on Sunday against the winner of the other semifinal between Amherst and Colby.

“Any NESCAC game is a battle, especially in the playoffs," Savage said. "We’re looking forward to the battle.”