Jumbos season ends with loss to Trinity

On Saturday Jan. 31 the men's basketball team traveled to Trinity College and got thumped by a very streaky Bantam team, 74-52. That game only counted as a NESCAC loss.

But last Saturday, the two teams got back together at Trinity for the NESCAC playoffs and, in a very similar result, Trinity came away with a 72-57 victory.

This time however, the Jumbos fell to an overall solid team, ranked in the top ten in the country.

"They have a nice presence down low in Craig (Coupe) and Tyler (Rhoten) and a good shooter in (John) Halas and a steady point guard who doesn't have a great shot, but keeps their offense going," junior forward Reggie Stovell said.

With the victory, Trinity moves on to play third seeded Amherst next weekend, while Tufts' season is finished.

Trinity pulled out to an early lead, but Tufts was able to counter and tie the game at 11 four minutes in.

For the next eight minutes, both teams were very cold. Trinity eventually mounted a 14-4 run, pushing its lead to 11 with three minutes left in the half. By halftime, the Bantams were in control, 36-23.

In the first half, Tufts (37.5 percent) actually shot better than Trinity (36.1 percent), percentage wise. Trinity only made two of ten shots from three-point land, while Tufts limited itself to just four three point attempts, making one.

In the second half, Tufts was able to cut Trinity's lead to eight with a little more than ten minutes left, but that was as close as the Jumbos would get.

Tufts finished with 18 turnovers to Trinity's ten. Bantam forward and reigning NESCAC Rookie of the Year Tyler Rhoten was held to 12 points this time around, compared to the 26 points he scored the first time the two teams met. However, junior sharpshooter John Halas stepped in where Rhoten left off, scoring a game-high 17 points.

"All season turnovers have affected us," Stovell said. "Tyler only had 12 points, which goes to show you they have more than Mr. Rhoten."

Just like the first game, Tufts played Trinity evenly in the second half. In January, both teams scored 40 points in the second half and in last weekend's game, Tufts scored 34 to Trinity's 36 second half points. The only problem was that Tufts faced a bulky halftime deficit in both games.

Trinity shot well in the second half, making 45.8 percent of its shots, while Tufts shot poorly from the field, only making 32 percent of its shots. However, the Jumbos managed to stay in the game by making an impressive 18 of 21 free throws.

The two games Tufts and Trinity played this year were nearly identical. However, the one big difference between this contest and the first game played is how Trinity scored.

In the first game, transfer Craig Coupe was limited to zero points in only 19 minutes of action.

"I got two quick fouls and coach took me out," Coupe said. "And I got another two quick ones in the second half."

This game, the trio of and Stovell and sophomores Dan Martin and Blaine Lay shut down Rhoten, forcing him to take tough shots that led to a meager four of 15 shooting performance for only 12 points.

However, Coupe got his revenge. The former Jumbo standout played 33 minutes, grabbed seven rebounds, and finished with 13 points, including two drop step dunks.

"The big difference was that the first game was kind of awkward," Coupe said. "I just felt a lot more comfortable this game."

On the flip side, Stovell was one of Tufts' lone bright spots in the first contest, shooting 5 for 11 from the field, totaling a team-high 13 points. On Saturday, Stovell struggled, converting on just one of ten shots from the field and finishing with six points.

Senior co-captain Deyvehn East once again led Tufts with 13 points, playing all but one minute in the game.

Tufts' season is finished with an overall record of 8-17. Trinity presses on, ranked in the top ten nationally with an overall record of 21-3.