With eight minutes remaining in Saturday's NESCAC quarterfinal matchup against the Williams Ephs, the Jumbos were on the ropes.
The Ephs had cut a double-digit lead to five, 74-69, they owned the momentum, and Tufts was missing lay ups and turning the ball over.
Many of the 1,500 fans in attendance were looking to the team's leading scorers, such as senior tri-captain Dan Martin or sophomores Jake Weitzen and Ryan O'Keefe, to keep Tufts' conference title hopes alive. But the Jumbos who carried the team in its time of need were its two star juniors: tri-captain guard Dave Shepherd and forward Brian Kumf. The classmates scored five straight points on four consecutive possessions for a 10-0 run that buried the Ephs for good.
Kumf's electrifying dunk with 7:51 remaining ignited the Tufts offense, and the junior duo proceeded to put the game away in the following two minutes. Seconds later, he had the ball in his hands again, and again he took it to the hoop. He was fouled while converting a lay-up and completed the three-point play with a made free throw.
Just 32 seconds later, Shepherd added his own lay-up to expand the team's lead to 12. He converted a three-point play on the ensuing possession, the final step in the 10-0 run.
Not yet content, Shepherd made eight consecutive free throws in the game's final minute and finished the contest with one final lay-up, putting the Jumbos over the century mark with a final score of 101-89.
Heading into Saturday afternoon's contest against the second-seeded Trinity Bantams, the Jumbos' chances may again hinge on Shepherd and Kumf's ability to come through again in the clutch.
Both players were key in the first-round game against Williams, racking up identical totals of 20 points and seven rebounds. Shepherd directed the offense with five assists, while Kumf led the defense with three steals.
The Jumbos will be looking for a repeat performance, but as they have seen throughout the season, consistency is sometimes hard to come by.
Kumf's presence on the scoreboard is as recent as it is explosive. He was a variable offensive force during the first half of the season, including three games - an early December matchup against UMass-Dartmouth and January games versus Wheaton and Williams - in which he scored just two points. He has since bounced back in grand fashion to become a crucial component of the Tufts offense.
"He's really been attacking the rims, grabbing those offensive boards," Weitzen said. "He was in some kind of a funk, but he got out of it about halfway through the season."
Kumf had a breakout week at the end of January, averaging 14 points and seven boards in a three-game stretch against Conn. College, Western Connecticut, and UMass-Boston. The Jumbos won all three, the latter largely on a season-high 19 points from Kumf.
"He's been the most athletic guy on the floor," Martin said. "He's easily one of our best offensive players. He had one breakout game, and that's all he needed to get back on track."
Kumf only got better as the stakes grew greater - the 20-point performance Saturday eclipsed his previous season high and tied his career best. For Shepherd, his 20 points against the Ephs was a career first, and perhaps a sign of a big conference tournament for the junior point guard, who has come a long way over the course of the season.
"I've seen in just one year such a big difference in how he controls the game at that position," Weitzen said. "He doesn't turn the ball over nearly as much."
As the squad's point guard and a tri-captain, Shepherd is responsible for leading the team both on and off the floor, a position to which he has adapted well.
"Dave's really outspoken as a leader," Martin said. "He's really in-your-face, but he's a real leader by example."
Shepherd has been solid at the point in recent games, keeping his assists up and his turnovers down, which has helped the Jumbos become a more efficient offensive team.
"Everyone knows he's very intense, as a leader and a basketball player," Weitzen said. "His work ethic spreads to the entire team."
