It took the men's basketball team a while to gain offensive momentum on Saturday against the Colby Mules in the first round of the NESCAC Tournament. But once the Jumbos started scoring, Colby could do nothing to stop them.
After heading into halftime with a tender 39-36 lead, the Jumbo offense came out full force in the second half to score 60 points and bury the Mules 99-88 to advance to the NESCAC Tournament semifinals.
"It was a good playoff game," coach Bob Sheldon said. "Both teams were evenly matched. They slowed it down in the first half and then in the second half, I think we imposed our will a little bit and got the pace up to how we wanted it."
Playing against a smaller lineup, the Jumbos came into the game trying to pound the ball inside. The strategy worked, as the team outscored the Mules 48-26 in the paint and out-rebounded them 57-36. The Jumbos scored their first 30 points of the game from in the paint or from the free throw line.
Despite the success in the lane, the Jumbos found themselves trailing by as many as seven points in the first half as Colby played tough defense and shot 9-10 for free-throws. Mules senior Pat McGowan scored 14 first-half points and ended up with a game-high 28 in his final collegiate game.
"I think we just came out a little bit flat," senior tri-captain Drew Kaklamanos said. "If we lost this game, there would have been a lot of people who would have said our season was a fluke. So I think we came in a little bit too tight, a little bit tentative. Shots that we normally make, we weren't making, but we settled down and played them how we were supposed to play them."
The team's shaky play in the beginning of the game didn't worry Sheldon, even though it came on the heels of a lopsided loss to Amherst.
"I wasn't worried," Sheldon said. "They were making a lot of shots and I knew that we could pick up our defense and we'd wear them out eventually. We wanted to keep running."
The Jumbos chipped away at the lead and went into the locker room at halftime leading 39-36.
"Our goal going in here was to jam it inside, and when they started doubling us up, to kick it out," Sheldon said. "We thought that they would have to start calling fouls. So, even at halftime we said keep jamming it inside."
Resuming play after the break, Colby cut the lead to two on a jumper by star center sophomore Drew Cohen. But after that, things turned around for the Jumbos.
With six fans wearing shirts that spelled out "GO KUMF" watching from the balcony, sophomore forward Brian Kumf leaped up to grab a lob from sophomore Dave Shepherd at the baseline. Planting his feet and then muscling his way up for the layup, Kumf hit the shot, drew a foul on Cohen, and then sank the free throw.
More importantly, Cohen picked up his fourth foul and had to exit the game.
"They got into foul trouble," Kaklamanos said. "When [Cohen] got his fourth foul and they went in small, we knew there was no way they could guard us inside. Our post players, Jake, Reggie and Dan, are all too good. We just pushed the ball, ran smart and pounded it inside."
Junior center Dan Martin had a career game, piling up 26 points and 15 rebounds. He efficiently shot 8-10 from the floor and knocked down 10-11 from the line. Martin made his own opportunities in the paint, grabbing seven offensive boards.
"Dan Martin was a man out there today," Sheldon said. "The last three games, he has played probably the three best big men in the league, so his confidence was sky-high going against Cohen."
Martin's performance made up for a rough shooting night by senior tri-captain Reggie Stovell, who shot 4-14 but came down with nine rebounds, including five offensive ones.
"Dan Martin played a great game today," Stovell said. "He has the potential to be the best player in the NESCAC. He just came out and showed it today. We're a team full of weapons."
Kumf was another one of those weapons on Saturday, pouring in 18 points and hitting all eight of his free throws. Kaklamanos was also good all-around, scoring 12 points, snatching three steals and blocking a shot. His performance made up for a rough game by backcourt teammate Shepherd, who handed out 11 assists but turned the ball over nine times and shot 1-7.
The Jumbos spent plenty of time at the line throughout the game, as four Colby starters fouled out. The list included leading scorers Cohen and McGowan. The Jumbos capitalized, hitting 30 of 34 from the charity stripe in the second half and going 38 of 44 in the game.
With the win, the Jumbos will move on to play the Bates Bobcats next Saturday in the NESCAC Tournament semifinals at Amherst. A win could launch the team to the NESCAC Tournament final, where the Jumbos would have a chance to advance to the NCAA Tournament.
"[This win is] huge," Kaklamanos said. "I feel like [the win] validates the team. The two seed wasn't a fluke. [A record of] 16-9 was not a fluke. We beat teams. They're not always big wins, but they're wins."
