With the ball in his hands, junior tri-captain Dave Shepherd looked up and saw 1.3 seconds on the clock and his team down by two. But he'd been here before.
With a slight variation on his late heroics against Springfield on Nov. 22 - when he drained two free throws with five seconds left to give Tufts a 72-71 win - Shepherd drove the left side of the lane and flipped in a layup to force overtime. In doing so he solidified himself as the Jumbos' go-to player, a role left open this season with the graduation of Reggie Stovell (LA '05).
The Jumbos dominated the overtime period, hitting all five shots from the floor and riding a 13-for-16 showing at the foul line to score 24 points in the five extra minutes en route to an 86-72 win.
With a 17-point win over UMass-Dartmouth on Thursday and the comeback victory over Brandeis, Tufts completed a sweep of a three-game homestand at Cousens Gym last week, improving its record on the season to 5-1.
Against Brandeis on Saturday afternoon, the Jumbos struggled from the floor early on, making just under 30 percent of their first-half field goals. The Judges were quick to capitalize, closing the first half with a 15-4 run and taking a five-point lead into the locker room at halftime.
Brandeis began to pull away in the final minutes of the second half, led by dominant sophomore big man Steve DeLuca, who would finish the game with 20 points. The Judges led 61-53 with a minute and a half remaining, but the tenacious Jumbos refused to surrender.
Junior Brian Kumf, who had left the game earlier in the second half, hobbling off the floor on an injured leg, returned and shut down the Judges' inside presence, pulling down three of his game-high 12 rebounds in the final minutes. He helped fill the void left by senior tri-captain Dan Martin, who missed the game due to a broken nose and concussion sustained against UMass-Dartmouth.
"He was a leader for us today," Sheldon said of Kumf. "He's going to be back at full-strength in no time, and he's going to be great."
Shepherd emerged as the hero of the second half, draining a three-pointer with 1:19 left to cut the Jumbo deficit to 61-58, and then sinking two free throws with 14 seconds remaining in regulation to close the Judges' lead to one point, 61-60. After Brandeis sophomore guard Florian Rexhepi sank a free throw of his own, Shepherd was there to finish the second half by dropping in the game-tying layup, sending the contest into overtime knotted at 62.
"We were totally recharged going into overtime," Kumf said. "Dave inspired us."
The recharged Tufts offense stormed into the extra session with a 7-2 run in the first minute, which set the pace for the remainder of the game.
Sophomore guard Ryan O'Keefe poured in eight of his game-leading 26 points in overtime, while sophomore Jake Weitzen added seven of his 18.
One deciding factor in Saturday's game was the team's performance at the free throw line. The Jumbos were perfect from the line in regulation time, and finished the game 88 percent from the charity stripe. Weitzen, Shepherd, O'Keefe and Fitzgerald were a combined 18 for 18.
Shepherd, who has now twice carried his team to victory in the final seconds, put it best.
"You've got to hit your free throws at the end," Shepherd said. "You can't win if you don't do it."
On Thursday night, the Jumbos suited up against UMass-Dartmouth in the second of three home games. Despite the loss of Martin two minutes into the contest when he took an elbow to the face, the Jumbos rebounded in style, cruising to a 91-74 victory.
Despite the severity of the injury, Sheldon is confident that Martin will be ready to return next week.
"I think he'll be back Tuesday," Sheldon said after Saturday's game.
With sophomore Pat Sullivan filling Martin's shoes at center and senior tri-captain Brian Fitzgerald and junior Brian Kumf pulling extra shifts at the forward positions, the Jumbos came together to put away the Corsairs easily on Thursday night.
Weitzen led the way with 21 points, Shepherd added 16 points (on 6-7 shooting) and six assists, and Fitzgerald dominated in the paint with 14 rebounds. Tufts took the lead five minutes into the game and never looked back, eventually stretching the lead to 21 before ending with the 17-point win.
Even without Martin, Tufts outrebounded UMD 43-38 and Brandeis 45-39.
With the perfect home stretch, the team has now won five straight games, its longest winning streak in five years. The 5-1 Jumbos will look to continue the tear as they take on Plymouth State on Tuesday night.
