After defeating Colby 99-88 last weekend in the first round of the NESCAC Tournament at Cousens Gym, the men's basketball team is heading to Amherst to determine how much longer its season will continue.
The Jumbos enter semi-final play on Saturday against the Bates Bobcats. If they win, they will move on to play the winner of the Trinity-Amherst game with a chance to move on to the NCAA Tournament.
On Feb. 5, the Jumbos defeated Bates by a score of 78-73. In the game, senior tri-captain Reggie Stovell scored his 1,000th point and had a double-double with 23 points and 14 rebounds.
Bates, the number three seed in the tournament, is 18-7 on the season and 6-3 in the conference. The other two conference losses came to Amherst and Colby. Tufts currently sits at 16-9 and 7-2 in the conference, with losses to Connecticut College and Amherst.
In its previous game against Bates, Tufts came back from a 14 point first half deficit to go into halftime down by four at 41-37. In the second half, the Jumbos kept up the pressure and managed to turn the tide and lead by as much as 14 in the second half.
They resisted a furious charge by Bates that cut the lead to as little as three with 22 seconds left. Two free throws by senior tri-captain Drew Kaklamanos with 10 seconds remaining sealed the win for the Jumbos.
It was a close game that gave the team the momentum to defeat Trinity before finally being defeated by Amherst, the No. 3 team in the country.
Two players who have led the Bobcats all year are sophomore forward Rob Stockwell and senior guard Brian Gerrity. In the teams' first meeting, the Jumbos held Gerrity to only nine points, while Stockwell had 14.
"I think Kaklamanos will have a good game," Coach Sheldon said. "All the seniors need to step it up and just play within the team parameters. They don't need to play harder for this game. They just need to play as they've been doing all year long."
A week after dominating Colby in rebounding, Tufts will have an opportunity to do the same against Bates. In their first match-up, the Jumbos earned a 41-32 edge on the glass. Averaging 47.3 rebounds per game, the Jumbos lead the NESCAC in that category and are out-rebounding opponents by an average of 9.6 rebounds per game.
The Jumbos also lead the conference in scoring with 82.8 points per game. The team's defense, however, has given opponents the opportunity to match those numbers, as Tufts also allows the most points in the league with 79.9 per game.
The Jumbos will attempt to establish themselves inside with Stovell and reigning NESCAC Co-Player of the Week junior Dan Martin, who put up 26 points and 15 rebounds against Colby.
"We'll just try to get the ball to Dan and Reggie inside and take some good outside shots," Sheldon said. "I'm confident we'll win if we do that."
If the Jumbos pull out the win, they will face the winner of a Trinity-Amherst match-up that has the potential to be extremely close. The Amherst-Trinity game at Trinity earlier this season was Amherst's closest win, 85-82. Amherst has won 16 straight and is expected to win the tournament.
Tufts played both teams two weekends ago in its final two games of the regular season. The Jumbos defeated Trinity in the first game, beating the No. 22 team in the country by a score of 93-81 as Stovell put forth another incredible effort with 21 points and 20 rebounds.
The Amherst-Tufts match up the following afternoon, however, was far uglier for the Jumbos, who lost by 33 points in a slaughter.
We want to get back at Amherst," Sheldon said. "But we'll take either of them as they come."
If the team is to get its chance for revenge, it will have to put forth a repeat performance against a tough Bates squad first. The teams square off at 4:00 on Saturday after the conclusion of the 2:00 Trinity-Amherst game. A free fan bus will be leaving Cousens Gym at 1:00. Forty-eight tickets are available, free of charge, for purchase on a first-come, first-serve basis and can be picked up at Dowling Hall.
