All season, the men's basketball team had no problem with offense, leading the conference in scoring. On Saturday, that offense was nowhere to be found as the second-seeded Jumbos lost to third-seeded Bates 60-54 in the second round of the NESCAC Tournament.
The Jumbos' offense, coming into the game averaging 82.8 points per game, could only muster 54 points against the Bobcats, shooting 35.5 percent from the floor in the game. The offensive output was tied for lowest of the season for the Jumbos.
"It was a hard-fought game," coach Bob Sheldon said. "I felt we didn't shoot the ball well. We've been relying on offense all year. Our defense has been good, but we just have got to get more than 60 points."
The loss ended a season for Tufts in which the Jumbos doubled their win total, finishing with a 16-10 record.
After coughing up its feeble first half lead and allowing the Bobcats to jump ahead and grab hold of a second half lead, the Jumbos managed to narrow the gap in the closing minutes.
With 3:06 left in the game and the Jumbos down by five, junior Dan Martin caught a pass from sophomore Dave Shepherd at the free throw line and hit the 15-footer to cut the deficit to 54-51.
The Jumbos turned up the pressure on defense on the next possession and freshman Ryan O'Keefe knocked the ball away from Bates sophomore Zak Ray and then dove to the floor for the ball. Several Jumbos and Bobcats followed, diving to the floor and scrambling for the basketball. After the tussle was cleared up, the referees called a tie-up and the possession arrow favored Tufts.
On the other end of the floor, with a chance to cut the lead to one, Martin missed a layup.
"We ran a play," Sheldon said. "It's a play that has an inside option and an outside option. I said we didn't have to shoot the three. Let's just get the ball in there. Actually, I think we got a great shot. We just missed an easy layup. That would have cut it to one, and it's a whole different game, but we missed some shots we normally make."
Despite the miss and a basket at the other end by the Bobcats, Tufts still had a chance to get back in the game.
With 1:58 left in the game and the Jumbos trailing 56-51, senior tri-captain Reggie Stovell stepped right into the lane, spun back to the left side, raised up for a layup and drew the foul. Stovell settled in and sunk the pair of free throws to pull the Jumbos within a basket at 56-53.
After two layups off of offensive rebounds by Bates sophomore Rob Stockwell and a missed three-pointer by O'Keefe, the Jumbos, trailing by seven in the final minute, desperately needed a basket.
Shepherd got to the line and made the first free throw. After his second attempt missed, senior tri-captain Drew Kaklamanos skied for the rebound, and the Jumbos were still alive. The team got three more shots on that possession, but none of them fell and the Jumbos' hopes were dashed.
"We went cold," assistant coach Reggie Hobbs said. "We couldn't make a shot. I thought we had some good shots. They just didn't go down. That's the game."
After shooting 42.4 percent in the first half, Tufts shot just 27.6 percent in the second. The Bobcats were not much better, shooting just 34.2 percent in the half and 36.5 percent for the game.
"If you looked at this game, you never would have thought it would be 54-60," Hobbs said. "You'd think it would be in the 80 [point range]. Both teams like to play that way, but both teams locked down defensively."
The team appeared to be in good shape in the first half. After trailing 21-14 early in the game, the Jumbos utilized four of ten outside shooting in the half to take a 32-30 lead in the first half on a turnaround jumper in the post by Shepherd.
Coming out of the locker room, the Jumbos quickly fell down 40-34. They fought back, however, to claim a 45-44 lead on a three-pointer by Stovell.
Things deteriorated from there as the Bobcats went on a 10-0 run. Tufts was never able to reclaim the lead.
Bates' strong defense was the major source of the Jumbos' struggles.
"Bates played great defense," Martin said. "You can't take anything away from them. We didn't have our offense as much as we've had in the past, but they just came out hard."
The game ended the collegiate careers of senior tri-captain Jesse Belodoff, Stovell and Kaklamanos.
Stovell, who had a rough start to the game, scoring six points and grabbing two rebounds in the first half, finished the game with 21 points and 13 rebounds, solidifying his case for NESCAC Player of the Year.
"I'm going to miss the seniors incredibly," Martin said. "I came in with Jesse and Drew. They came in as sophomores. I was a freshman that year. I love them all. Reggie, he's going to be missed so much. I'm just really heartbroken right now. I can't say enough about them. [They're] incredible people and incredible athletes. I don't know what it's going to be like next year."
According to the coaching staff, however, the presence of the seniors will still be felt next year.
"Without the seniors, we wouldn't have accomplished our goal," Hobbs said. "Their mark on this program is going to be around for a long time because of what they did in terms of leadership and intangibles."
