It took a game for the Jumbo offense to warm up, but when it finally did, the men's basketball team scored all the points it needed to recover from an opening day loss and come home from the Resler Tournament with a 1-1 record.
After struggling offensively in a 69-55 loss to national No. 10 Wittenberg, the team recovered to knock off Alfred in the second game, 94-74.
"We played really hard, we played great defense, and we out-worked our opponents," sophomore Jake Weitzen said. "Unfortunately, we shot horribly in the first game and that's what made us lose. In the second game, we got easier shots which allowed us to shoot a higher percentage."
The offensive troubles from the opener against Wittenberg were nowhere to be found in the game against Alfred. The Saxons never led as Tufts raced out to a 17-point lead in the first half.
Sophomore Ryan O'Keefe led a pack of five Jumbos in double digits with 24 points in just 18 minutes. O'Keefe got the Jumbos going early, adding five points to an early 7-2 lead. O'Keefe went on to score 22 first-half points on 10-12 shooting.
"He was unstoppable in the first half," Weitzen said. "He was taking it to the basket, hitting threes, and making jumpers. That's not out of the ordinary for Ryan O'Keefe to do that, but when he does that, the other team doesn't have a chance."
With 9:07 left in the first half, Alfred's Todd Dersham tipped in a shot to close the score to 29-22. Tufts responded, scoring nine straight points, including four from O'Keefe, to take control of the game.
The Jumbos went on to take a 46-24 lead with 4:45 left in the half when senior Dan Martin hit back-to-back baskets. Martin chipped in 14 points, seven rebounds and three blocks on 7-10 shooting for the day. Thirty seconds later, the team would extend the lead to 23 points with a layup by O'Keefe, but the Saxons went on an 8-2 run to close out the half down by 17.
In the second half, Alfred tried to get back in the game, clipping the lead to 58-48 with 15:37 left. The Jumbos responded with a 17-2 run to take a 25-point lead with just over ten minutes remaining. Tufts eventually took a game-high 29-point lead on a three-point play by senior co-captain Brian Fitzgerald with 5:40 left. The Saxons closed out the game with an 11-2 run to make the score a little more respectable, but the outcome was never in question.
"We saw them play the night before against Rochester and they looked awful, to be honest," Fitzgerald said.
The Jumbos outshot the Saxons 54.7 percent to 40.7. When they did miss shots, Tufts stayed tough on the boards, collecting offensive rebounds on 22 of its 34 misses.
Coach Bob Sheldon used the blowout as an opportunity to mix up his lineup, putting 15 players on the floor and keeping no player in for more than 24 minutes. The Jumbos received solid reinforcement in their subs, as the Tufts bench outscored the Alfred bench 37-13.
"It was a good opportunity to get everyone in the game and get everybody some game time experience because we weren't playing the toughest team," Weitzen said. "It was somewhat of a practice."
Sophomores Jeremy Black and Weitzen had solid games off the bench, contributing 12 and 19 points respectively. In only his second appearance as a Jumbo, after tearing his ACL right before his freshman year, Black hit four three-pointers and added five steals and an assist.
Black made his debut in Friday's loss to Wittenberg, getting the start as Sheldon played three guards on the floor together. Playing against the tenth-ranked team in the country, the Jumbos struggled to find their offense. Only junior Brian Kumf was able to crack double digits in points, leading the team with 13.
"I know we were really amped up heading into the game," Fitzgerald said. "We've been practicing since Nov. 1 and really since the end of last season for most of the guys, working out and lifting weights. This was our first chance to play an actual game. We were a little nervous and too psyched up."
The team shot just 29 percent from the floor, just four of 21 from behind the arc, and didn't score until three and a half minutes into the game. By the time they got on the board, the Jumbos were already down 5-0 and spent the entire game playing from behind.
"I know it wasn't all Wittenberg's defense [that caused us to shoot poorly] because we weren't hitting our shots in lay-up lines," Weitzen said.
Despite shooting 29.6 percent in the first half, Tufts found itself down just 25-23. Wittenberg got off to a quick start in the second half, however, and took a 48-34 lead with 11:50 remaining.
The Jumbos went on an eight-point run to cut it to six, but Wittenberg quickly extended the lead and, with just over five minutes left, took a 61-46 lead. The Jumbos could not get back into the game and dropped their season opener for the third straight year.
"We showed that we could grit it out when we're not shooting well," Fitzgerald said. "We played alright defense, but we really missed an opportunity to get a big win."
The Jumbos could have another opportunity for a big win when they take on Springfield tonight. Springfield has received numerous votes for the Top 25 poll, and has defeated the Jumbos each of the past two years.
