Looking Back (Feb. 2) | Los Angeles Lakers 108, Dallas Mavericks 104
In one of the best NBA games of the year, the Los Angeles Lakers proved Sunday that they are a force to be reckoned with, defeating the Dallas Mavericks in overtime 108-104 on Saturday.
Kobe Bryant dropped 52 points in the game, including 30 in the fourth quarter and overtime alone, going 7-for-10 from the field and a perfect 15-for-15 from the charity stripe. He also had 11 rebounds and four assists. Pau Gasol added 17 points and 14 boards while Lamar Odom contributed 10 rebounds.
Dirk Nowitzki had a game for the Mavericks, tallying 30 points, 13 rebounds and five assists. Dirk hit a three-pointer with just two seconds left in the game to tie it at 93 and send it to overtime, but he then missed another potential game-tying three with seven seconds left in the extra period.
Jason Kidd had 15 points and 11 assists in his seventh game for the team, but the newest Mav came up small for the team down the stretch. With Dallas trailing by three and 10 seconds remaining in the overtime session, Kidd made a driving layup and drew a foul on Gasol, but at the free throw line with a chance to tie the game, Kidd missed, ending Dallas' chances for a win.
Erick Dampier had one of his best games of the year, totaling 16 points and 17 rebounds on 7-of-7 shooting. Of the eight times that Dampier has scored in double-digits this year, this is only the second game that the Mavs have lost.
Currently, the Lakers are tied with the San Antonio Spurs for the top spot in the West seventh.
Looking Ahead (March 8) | Men's Lacrosse vs. Skidmore
The men's lacrosse team will open its season this Saturday on the road against Skidmore, a matchup that has proven challenging for the Jumbos in the past two years.
Last season Tufts defeated Skidmore 5-4 in a low scoring, defensive oriented contest. The game was tied until 1:24 left in the game, when then-senior Stephen Ginsberg scored the winning goal. It was a triumph that catapulted the Jumbos to a brilliant 2007 campaign in which they captured the regular season NESCAC crown.
In 2006, Tufts opened its season with a thrilling 8-7, double overtime victory over the Thoroughbreds, coming back from a two goal deficit in the fourth quarter to prevail.
Tufts will be without two key returning playmakers on Saturday. Junior attackman Clem McNally, who led the team with 40 goals in 17 games last season, is out at least four weeks with a broken jaw, while senior attackman Connor Ginsberg, who was fourth on the team with 23 points, is out indefinitely with torn ligaments in his hand. Both McNally and Ginsberg contributed goals in the win against Skidmore last season.
The Thoroughbreds enter the game on the heels of their 15-5 thrashing of Babson in their season opener on Sunday.
Tufts is ranked No. 9 in the country, and with the goal of a national championship in the distance, the Jumbos hope they can take the first step in a long journey this weekend. The game will kick off a season-opening, three-game homestand that includes matchups with Eastern Conn. and Williams.
