Hockey and basketball teams went 2-1 before break

As many Tufts students were packing their bags for the Thanksgiving holiday, three Jumbo teams remained in action last Tuesday.

The women's basketball team and the hockey team both earned victories at home over Johnson and Wales and Southern New Hampshire University (SNH), respectively, while the men's basketball team fell to Springfield on the road.

The hockey team won its first game of the season 4-2 over SNH at the Malden Forum. Tufts scored four goals in the second period to seal the win.

Despite being out shot 48-32, the Jumbos netted their four goals in a flurry of offensive activity over 16 minutes and 28 seconds of play. The first goal came off of the stick of senior tri-captain Pat Byrne during a powerplay at 5:16 into the second frame. Junior, and fellow tri-captain Shawn Sullivan, along with sophomore John Van Pelt, assisted on the goal.

Just 28 seconds later, junior John Hurd scored his fourth goal of the year to put Tufts ahead 2-0 with an assist from freshman John Murphy. However, the Jumbos would not maintain this comfortable lead for long. SNH junior Pat Doherty capitalized on a two man advantage with a goal 8:17 into the period.

Still down one man on the SNH powerplay, the Jumbos brought their lead back up to two goals when sophomore Ken Cleary scored a shorthanded goal with the help of Gino Rotondi 43 seconds after Doherty scored for SNH.

Byrne netted his second goal of the game to put the Jumbos on top 4-1 a few minutes later off assists by Sullivan and sophomore Adam Delaney-Winn.

Senior goal Ben Crapser had 46 saves on the day, including 17 in the offensively chaotic second period.

The win moved the Jumbos to 1-2 on the year while SNH lost its second straight and now stands at 3-2. Tufts will play its next game at home on Tuesday versus UMass Dartmouth.

On the basketball court, the men's squad lost on the road at Springfield College, 79-66. Springfield sophomore forward Jim Mack had a dominating day scoring 19 points, 12 of them off of three point shots.

Tufts junior guard Andrew Kakalamanos led the Jumbos with 13 points while freshman Brian Kumf added 12 points and six rebounds.

Springfield maintained the lead throughout the game. The team was ahead 40-33 at the half time intermission and eventually lengthened that margin to 18 points (62-44) in the second frame.

With 4:17 remaining, the Jumbos made a run and came within seven after a Kakalamanos three pointer. With the score at 69-62 and nearly three minutes left, it looked as though the Jumbos would have a shot at the victory. However, Springfield netted a free throw and then a basket to increase its lead to ten (72-62) and provide the final straw that broke the Jumbos' backs.

Tufts and Springfield were evenly matched in rebounds and field goal percentage, but the Jumbos gave the ball up 28 times to Springfield's 19. Springfield also led the Jumbos 9-0 on fast break points.

With the loss, Tufts fell to 1-2 on the year. The team could rise above the .500 mark this week depending on the results of last night's game versus Salem State and Tuesday's home match-up against MIT.

The women's basketball team was more successful than the men on Tuesday with a 98-47 victory over Johnson and Wales in Cousen's Gym.

Junior Allison Love led the rout with 20 points and nine boards. Also contributing to the Jumbos' huge margin of victory were sophomore Jessica Powers (17 points), senior tri-captain Maritsa Christoudias (ten points, eight rebounds), and sophomore Julia Verplank (11 points).

Johnson and Wales drew first blood with an early basket, but Tufts extinguished any fire its opponents may have had with a 17-0 run.

The game was all Tufts from there on out. The closest Johnson and Wales came to the Jumbos was 22 points when the score stood at 47-25 early in the second half. Tufts increased its huge lead to 50 points when freshman guard Taryn Miller-Stevens shot two free throws with just eight seconds remaining.

The Tufts defense forced Johnson and Wales to 31 turnovers and a paltry 29 percent from the floor. Tufts also out-rebounded the Wildcats, 59-32.

The win brought the Jumbos up to 2-1 on the year after the previous weekend's tournament in New Jersey. They will be back in action at home against Babson on Tuesday.