After an eight game road trip that started back on Jan. 18, the Jumbos are coming back to Cousens gym smiling.
After defeating the Bates Bobcats 78-73 at Alumni Gymnasium in Lewiston, Maine, the Jumbos improved their record to 5-3 on the road trip, 13-8 on the season and 6-1 in the conference.
The win guarantees the Jumbos a winning regular season record and home court advantage for the first round of the NESCAC Tournament.
"We survived [the road trip]," sophomore Dave Shepherd said. "There were a couple of bumps along the way against Connecticut College and Keene State. They played well, but we made it through."
The Jumbos overcame a 14-point first half deficit to overcome the Bobcats in both the game and the conference standings. The win broke a three-way tie for second place in the conference between Tufts, Trinity and Bates. The Jumbos now share second with only Trinity.
After Tufts erased its large first half deficit to close the gap to four at the half, the second half started with both teams close, as neither team could take a lead greater than six points in the first seven minutes.
With 13:16 remaining and the Jumbos trailing by one, Shepherd buried a three that triggered a 16-1 run.
The Bobcats were not done, however, closing the lead to three with three minutes remaining. The Jumbos kept the game out of reach though, as the team played stiff defense and freshman Jake Weitzen and senior Andrew Kaklamanos hit key free throws in the closing seconds.
"We came in both 5-1 in the conference," senior tri-captain Reggie Stovell said. "Now, we have a clear edge. It's good to beat a good team in its gym."
Playing on the road was nothing new for the Jumbos, and the players had little trouble adjusting.
"In all honesty, I don't think it affected one guy," Stovell said. "We were so focused on the game. We were not worried about the home court advantage. Sure, it was hot in there and crowded and the fans were getting a little rowdy, but we were focused."
Stovell entered the game just 12 points shy of 1,000 for his career. He didn't waste anytime getting there, hitting a layup with 8:06 left in the game to give him the milestone. While Stovell was proud of his achievement, he has a higher goal in sight.
"I want to win the NESCAC," Stovell said. "1000 points, that's great and I'm really happy for myself, but right now, we have a team that can go all the way."
Stovell finished the game with 23 points and 14 rebounds to lead the Jumbos. He was aided by freshman Ryan O'Keefe who dropped in 20 points.
O'Keefe has averaged 16.8 points per game in five starts in place of an ill sophomore Brian Kumf. But Kumf did return to action on Saturday after missing the four previous games, playing 21 minutes off the bench and contributing five points.
The Jumbos have three regular season games left, two of them against the top teams in the NESCAC. But Tufts is not shy about its goal in those three games.
"We want to sweep," Shepherd said. "We believe we can get a win on Tuesday against Newbury at home. If we sweep, we host the whole NESCAC Tournament. That's what we've been talking about in the locker room recently, but now, that's our goal."
Two tough teams stand in Tufts' way. Next weekend, they will play Trinity and Amherst, who are Nos. 25 and 4 in the nation respectively.
"In order for us to sweep, it's going to take a lot of heart and confidence," Stovell said. "Trinity and Amherst are nationally ranked teams. They're both tough teams, but I know that we can beat them. In order to do that, we have to continue to focus."
Coming off the victory over the Bobcats, the Jumbos will head into Tuesday's game with some momentum. After losing two in a row to Connecticut College and Keene State, the Jumbos righted themselves by beating UMass Dartmouth on Thursday by a score of 78-66.
Shepherd handed out 10 assists and O'Keefe dropped in 23 points as the Jumbos claimed a big first half lead.
A second half three pointer by Kaklamanos, one of his three, gave the Jumbos a 55-31 lead at one point.
UMass Dartmouth responded with 14 unanswered to make it a game.
"UMass Dartmouth was very physical," Shepherd said. "In the second half, we spread the lead out, but they crawled back into it."
UMass would get no closer than seven, however, as the Jumbos coasted to victory. The win gave Tufts the steam it needed heading into the Bates showdown.
"It was huge," Shepherd said. "The coaches didn't think we could win at Bates coming off of a loss and I agreed. Bates is one of the toughest places to play in the conference."
