In NESCAC men's basketball, it's amazing how much can change in one day.
Riding the momentum of a 94-84 overtime win over Bowdoin Friday night, the Jumbos headed into Saturday's match-up against the Colby Mules with high expectations. With a win on Saturday and a Trinity loss to the nation's top team, Amherst, Tufts was poised to claim the second seed in next week's conference tournament, edging out Trinity and Williams for the position.
Unfortunately for Tufts, everything fell apart on in its last regular season NESCAC game. After Williams easily cruised by Wesleyan early in the day, Trinity shocked the Lord Jeffs with their first loss of the season, and Colby dealt the Jumbos their fourth, an 89-84 shocker decided in the final second of play. Instead of second place in the NESCAC, the Jumbos must settle for sixth.
"We knew what was on the line," senior tri-captain Brian Kumf said. "We win, and we get a two, or possibly a three seed. We wanted to get that home game."
The Jumbos came out hustling in the early minutes, as two Senior Day honorees, Kumf and fellow tri-captain Dave Shepherd, scored on successive lay-ups to open a 9-4 Tufts lead four minutes into the game. Eventually, however, the Mules took command, thanks in large part to a senior co-captain of their own, center Drew Cohen.
A leading candidate for NESCAC Player of the Year, Cohen led all players on both teams in the first half in virtually every statistical category, with 10 points, five rebounds, three assists and three blocks.
"I think Drew Cohen's the best big guy in the league," coach Bob Sheldon said. "He doesn't bring it every night, and I think that that's why they're where they are - they're only 5-4, because sometimes he's not there. But he's still the best big man in the league, since he can block shots. He had a good game."
A Cohen lay-up with 13:49 left in the first half put the Mules ahead 12-11, handing them a lead they wouldn't relinquish until the second half. Sophomore forward Jon Pierce led the Jumbos on their charge back into the game, as he poured in six points during the 16-7 Tufts run that opened the second half. With 14:54 left in the game, it was a Pierce lay-up that gave the Jumbos their first lead of the half, 52-51.
The two teams traded baskets the rest of the way, as Cohen continued to power the Mule offense, finishing with 25 points, and freshman forward Adam Choice poured in 15 of his 20 in the second half. Meanwhile Shepherd knocked down three three-pointers in the frame to finish with 13 points, and junior guard Ryan O'Keefe led the Jumbos in rebounds for the first time in his career, with nine.
The lead changed hands a total of eight times, but the Jumbos held a three-point advantage going into the final 40 seconds. Cohen responded with a lay-up, and after a steal from sophomore guard Chris Lemmons, Choice drew a foul and sank two shots. Junior forward Jake Weitzen tried to reclaim the lead with 12 seconds left, but Cohen came through in the clutch, responding with his eighth block of the game.
"Defensively [Cohen] played very well, and offensively, he pretty much took the game over," Kumf said. "He made some huge plays down the stretch for them."
The Jumbos had one last chance to tie the game, down 87-84 with 0.9 seconds to play, but Shepherd never even inbounded the ball, being whistled for a five-second violation that essentially put the game away.
"I don't care if he takes five seconds," Sheldon said. "I don't care if he takes ten. Just let us have our last shot. That's a tough way for the seniors to go out, without getting that last shot."
The seniors' last home game dropped them to 5-4 in the conference, good enough for a fourth-place tie, but their tiebreakers - losses to Colby and Middlebury - dropped them to sixth. One seed below them are the Bowdoin Polar Bears, who suffered their sixth loss at Cousens Friday night.
Against Bowdoin, Pierce and O'Keefe both matched their career highs with 26 points, while Weitzen shattered his personal best with 14 rebounds. Tufts led for much of the second half, but Bowdoin came charging back, as junior guard Andrew Hippert scored six points in the game's final two minutes.
A pair of Hippert free throws with 26 seconds left gave the Bears a 79-76 lead, but a clutch Pierce three tied the game.
The Jumbo guards kept the score even, playing airtight defense on Hippert and senior co-captain Kevin Bradley, who missed a three at the buzzer.
"We had to make everything difficult for them," Shepherd said of the two Bowdoin guards. "We had to contest their shots. I think we did a good job of that."
The Jumbos cruised in the overtime period, outscoring the Bears 15-5 behind seven points from O'Keefe and six from Kumf.
"Even at the end of regulation, when we were down, there was no panic," Sheldon said. "I looked at their eyes, and it was the same glare as always. And then we hit the three and tied it, and I felt that once we were in overtime, we were comfortable."
Despite salvaging the split weekend, the Jumbos knew that five wins wouldn't be enough to ensure a home game in the NESCAC Tournament. Instead, they head to Williamstown, looking to repeat their Feb. 3 17-point win over the Ephs.
"We're going to go out and play with a chip on our shoulder," Kumf said. "Whether we're at home or on the road, we have to win it all to get to the NCAAs either way. So we might as well play three on the road."
After Thursday's non-conference match-up with UMass Boston, it's do or die the rest of the way.
The Jumbos are looking for nine more wins - three in the NESCAC playoffs, and six more for the national championship.
"This is going to be our NESCAC-slash-NCAA tournament," Sheldon said. "If we lose once, we're out."
