Men's Basketball

With a troublesome Thanksgiving break behind them, the men's basketball team looks to turn its season around at home tonight. Tufts (1-3) will face non-conference rival MIT (2-2) in Cousens Gym at 8:00. The Jumbos are coming off an 83-60 loss to Salem State on Sunday.

MIT enters the match-up at an even .500 (2-2). Fellow NESCAC competitor Connecticut College dealt the Engineers one of their two losses and the Jumbos would like to follow suit. In the past, this early season game has fallen in favor of the Jumbos. Last season, Tufts found itself in the same scenario -- beginning the season with a 1-3 slide and gaining momentum with a victory over MIT, 70-67.

Each season is different however, and for the Jumbos to end up victorious on Tuesday, the team will need to step up the level of play that has been displayed thus far this season.

"We are 1-3 right now, so everyone is going to be tough," coach Bob Sheldon said. "MIT is a big rivalry for us so I am expecting a good game."

The Engineers will travel into Cousens armed with an aggressive offense, one that is particularly effective from behind the arc. In their last game, a 69-57 victory over Suffolk, MIT overcame a five-point deficit at the half, sinking a game total 12 three-pointers. Half of these shots were attributed to senior guard Andrew Tsai.

In order for Tufts to come out on top in its home opener, the defense will have to find a way to break through screens and shut him down.

A win in this game would be a confidence booster, as well as preventing a 1-4 season opening record.

"We are going in with the same game strategy, we just need to execute better," Sheldon said. "We've been throwing the ball around too much."

Sheldon was referring to the team's high number of turnovers, including 19 in the loss to Salem State on Sunday.

In that game, the Jumbos were taken down early, trailing by 13 at the half. Tufts did not put up much of a fight in the second half, and the Vikings breezed to an 83-60 victory. For the fourth game in a row, Tufts was unable to break the 70-point mark.

During the game, the Vikings were able to hold the Jumbos to a mere 33.9 percent (21-62) from the field, while they answered with their own success at 50 percent (35/70). Guards Dewayne Cox and Allen Reid for Salem State proved to be the most troublesome, each scoring sixteen points apiece.

Tufts also faltered on the line, making only 12 of 30 free throw attempts. Tufts has struggled with free throws this year, making only 50.5 percent of its opportunities. Also contributing to the loss was the high number of turnovers sitting at 19, a number the Jumbos would like to contain to around ten.

On the positive side of things, Tufts' cleaned the boards for a total of 48 rebounds. Contributing to this number was sophomore Blaine Lay and senior co-captain Deyvehn East, who both tallied nine apiece.

Lay saw the most playing time and scored a team-high 15 points. Freshman David Shepherd added ten points, while Martin contributed eight.

After duking it out with MIT tonight, the Jumbos will travel to face Dartmouth on Thursday, followed by another home game on Saturday against Clark. Tufts has yet to face a NESCAC competitor- those match-ups that will come later in January and February.