Jumbos drop two straight in Maine

If the men's basketball team had defeated both Bowdoin and Colby on its trip to Maine, it would have assured itself a spot in the NESCAC playoffs. Instead, Tufts chose to take the harder road to the playoffs by losing to Bowdoin on Friday night, 65-77, and 80-65 at Colby on Saturday.

"We've only won one road game all season," senior co-captain Eric Mack said. "We're a different team on the road."

Tufts was certainly the underdog against Bowdoin as the Polar Bears are now 5-3 in NESCAC play, but the Colby game was a toss-up with the Mules tied with Tufts for the final playoff spot entering Saturday's contest.

"If we had taken two (against Colby and Bowdoin), we could have been in a great position for the playoffs," Mack said.

Now Tufts is in sole possession of ninth place in the league, one seed away from the playoffs, at 1-6 in NESCAC play. Colby is in eighth place at 2-6 and Middlebury, whom the Jumbos face this Friday, is in seventh place at 2-5.

In its game at Colby, Tufts performed poorly both offensively and defensively, which allowed the Mules to jump out to a ten point lead at the half and eventually a 15 point victory.

"Everything was bad," Mack said. "There was nothing positive we could take from that game."

Senior co-captain Deyvehn East and junior forward Reggie Stovell paced the way scoring-wise for Tufts with 10 and 14 points respectively, but Colby had four players in double-digits.

Colby capitalized on its quickness at forward by allowing them to handle the ball on the perimeter instead of the guards, according to Mack. That type of offense created problems for the Jumbos as it forced their forwards to play further away from the basket then they were accustomed to. Colby's quick forwards then drove off the dribble for lay-ups with the option to pass back to a guard for an open three-point attempt.

"Colby got a lot of dribble penetration and either got a lay-up or a three," Mack said.

When it was all said and done, Colby made 46.3 percent of its shots, including a whopping 66.7 percent of its three-pointers (8-for-12).

Meanwhile, Tufts struggled.

In the first half, Tufts shot 40 percent from the field and even managed four more shot attempts than the Mules, but poor shooting beyond the stripe (0-7) hurt them. During the second half, Tufts began to shoot more to try to get back into the game, but its percentages dropped.

"Looking at the percentages," Mack said. "We just didn't make shots."

Tufts made just two of 16 three-pointers and failed to capitalize on almost half of its free throw opportunities (making 52.9 percent). The Jumbos matched Colby well in other areas of play, and even grabbed eight more offensive boards, but it didn't matter as Colby pushed itself into the playoffs.

"No team is really bad, but we needed to beat them," Mack said. "Coming into the game they knew they had to beat us to get in the playoffs."

The day before, against Bowdoin, it was a case of too little, too late. Tufts came out flat in the first half, shooting 8-for-26 from the field, while Bowdoin played well enough to take a 15-point halftime lead, 33-18.

The second half was another story.

Both teams came out of the locker room making shots, shooting over 50 percent in the half. However, the 15 point deficit proved to be too much for Tufts. Even though Tufts scored 47 points in the second frame, Bowdoin was able to put up 44 points and hold off Tufts 77-65.

"To come back we have to make stops defensively," Mack said. "That's something we have to learn how to do."

Possibly making the wins a little easier for Bowdoin and Colby were Tufts' injuries. The Jumbos played both games without power forward Brian Kumf, whose athleticism would have helped Tufts stop dribble penetration by Colby's forwards.

"(Kumf sitting out) hurt more than I thought it would," Mack said. "He gives us a lot of flexibility."

In addition, freshman point guard David Shepherd scored 13 points and dished out two assists Friday against Bowdoin, but was unable to play Saturday due to a knee injury.

The Jumbos do not play another game until their pivotal match up at home against Middlebury on Friday. If the Jumbos beat Middlebury, there is a good chance they could sneak into the playoffs as an eight seed. Coach Bob Sheldon has given his troops the day off this Monday to rest up for Middlebury and then the number two Division III team in the country, Williams College, on Saturday.