The near capacity crowd that showed up Friday night to watch the men's basketball team play Trinity, the No. 22 team in the country, went home happy as the Jumbos upset the Bantams, winning by 12 with a score of 93 to 81 to secure the second seed in the NESCAC Tournament.
The energized crowd and the anticipation surrounding the game did not faze the team, which focused on the game.
"We wanted to come into this game on a pretty even keel," senior tri-captain Reggie Stovell said. "We knew that we couldn't get overconfident and just [had to] play our best."
And undoubtedly, they did. Stovell led the Jumbos with 21 points and 20 rebounds. He was a perfect 12-12 from the charity stripe. After watching a free throw roll around the rim endlessly before going in, Stovell pointed to the roof.
Early on, Trinity appeared to have the momentum. There were some key turnovers, and the Trinity bench got into the game. Then, the tables turned and it became a back and forth shootout. There were many fouls called early, forcing coach Bob Sheldon to bench sophomore Brian Kumf. He only played eight minutes of the first half.
One factor that the Jumbos had riding with them for the first time in a long time was the crowd. The crowd added to the atmosphere and the electricity in the gym, helping to quell any momentum gained by the visiting Bantams.
The crowd didn't really become involved in the game until ten minutes into the first half. With 9:19 left, Tufts utilized its height advantage to the utmost. In what was a repeat of Tuesday's game against Newbury, junior Dan Martin took a perfect inbounds pass from sophomore Dave Shepherd and slammed it viciously through the hoop. The Tufts crowd jumped to its feet in excitement.
The Jumbos were effective all night on inbounds passes. Shepherd's inbound passes were perfect, and often the recipient would not even have to dribble to get the ball in the basket. Shepherd finished the night with seven assists to lead all players.
One problem the Jumbos would have to contend with was Trinity junior Tyler Rhoten. Averaging 21 points per game, he is the leading scorer in the NESCAC and reigning NESCAC Player of the Week. The tall forward had to work around the trio of inside threats who shared the role of guarding him, including three-time NESCAC Player of the Week Stovell.
"We tried to play him real physically," said Stovell. "Me, [Martin], and [Kumf] all played him tough inside. We knew he was going to take 20-25 shots a game, so we figured that he was going to have to earn every single basket. He would take no easy shots."
Rhoten shot 4-10 from the field in the first half and finished the game leading all scorers with 25 points, retaining his NESCAC scoring title for another night. He also had 10 rebounds for the double-double.
With Tufts focusing on Rhoten, the Bantams turned to the outside for their points. The Jumbos were content to let them shoot from behind the arc, and that stratagem worked. Trinity was 5-17 in the first half from three-point range, but finished the game 8-33. The inability to go inside disrupted its rhythm and ultimately sealed the win for Tufts.
Freshman Jake Weitzen also stood out with clutch shooting and hustle. He had 14 points in the first half and finished the game with 20 and 10 rebounds, nine of which came in the second half.
Despite his efforts, the score was pretty close for much of the first half, with neither team accumulating a lead larger than five points.
Tufts managed to take the lead 44-41 on a layup by Martin with less than a minute remaining. After some frenetic shooting by Trinity, Tufts came down with the ball. But quickly, the Bantams forced a jump ball, and with the possession arrow in their favor, took control. With three seconds to play, John Halas took a pass on a well executed play and buried the game-tying three-pointer as time expired.
Coach Bob Sheldon said the team was confident at halftime because it knew it could play with the highly ranked Bantams.
"I told them that in the first half they proved they were as good as this team that was ranked twenty-something," Sheldon said. "I told them that they could win and win big."
With that confidence, the Jumbos came out of the gate streaking, and never looked back. The offense became a defined two-pronged attack: quick drives to the basket and getting the ball inside. Trinity tried to press after Tufts lengthened its lead, but was unsuccessful. The Jumbos sharp, precise passing and speed set the tempo.
"We made them play our game in the second half," Sheldon said, "and that's what turned the game to our favor. We could just breeze past them in transition and go for the easy layup. It's much easier to score that way."
