Early on in Wednesday night's game against regional foe Clark University, the men's basketball team appeared destined for its sixth-straight defeat. The Jumbos had managed just three shot attempts, committed four turnovers, and trailed 10-0 over the first four minutes to the host Cougars.
Despite its dismal start, the squad managed to find its footing before it was too late, bouncing back with a first-half surge to defeat the Cougars, 76-59, snap its losing skid and improve its record to 8-10 overall.
"The way we struggled recently, to come out like that and revert to everything we've done wrong in the past five games was definitely worrisome," junior co-captain Jon Pierce said. "[Coach Bob Sheldon] did a good job of taking a timeout, getting us back into the game mentally and getting in people's faces. We came out of that timeout with some intensity."
"When we called the timeout, we knew we had to turn everything around and get back on track and not let the lead get any worse," junior forward Dave Beyel added. "Coach calmed us down, and he got us to go back out there and compete with intensity."
A distinct result of that increased intensity on the floor included a 15-2 run, which included 12 points off of six layups.
"We were just making the extra pass," Pierce said. "We changed our offense a little bit and gave me some more drive-and-kick responsibility, and it created more movement and easier shots."
With the game tied at 17-17 with 9:17 left in the first half, the Jumbo offense kicked into overdrive, going on a 20-4 run to close the half. Beyel and junior guard Dan Cook contributed to the offensive onslaught with two three-pointers apiece.
"The biggest thing is that we started running," Pierce said. "We got out and pushed the ball. [Freshman guard Amauris Quezada] and [junior guard Reed Morgan] did a great job of pushing up the floor, and we got several transition threes through that."
"We did a great job of moving the ball around and not taking the first shot we had," Beyel added. "We valued the ball more and moved it well enough to get good shots instead of average shots."
Quezada, who checked in with seven assists, and Cook, who went 4-for-4 from three-point range, provided big lifts off the bench, where the Jumbos had been struggling as of late.
"It's great when the bench can give support and a spark and take some of the scoring pressure off the starters," Pierce said. "When Cook gets in there and is hitting like he was [Wednesday], it just opens up the floor for everyone."
After faltering at the game's start, the Jumbo defense put the clamps down and never let the Cougars back in the game. Clark shot a meager 27 percent and hit on just one of 15 attempts from beyond the arc in the first half.
"We were taking it personally on the defensive end," Pierce said. "We had everyone crashing the boards, and we forced them to take contested shots and didn't let them have second opportunities. That's a good recipe for defensive success."
The second half featured similar results for Tufts as all its players got involved. The Jumbos emptied their bench, with all 13 players receiving playing time on court. The lead ballooned all the way up to 28 points following a free throw from Quezada with just over 10 minutes left to play before Clark cut the deficit to relatively respectable numbers by the end of the game.
Four Jumbos scored in double figures, led by Pierce with 17. Cook and senior co-captain Aaron Gallant each put up identical 12-point, five-rebound nights, while Beyel netted 14 points of his own. The Cougars, who fell to a .500 record of 9-9, were led by a pair of freshmen, Brian Vayda and Jonathan Phillips, who scored 16 and 11, respectively.
Its recent winless streak in the past, the Jumbos remain on the road throughout the weekend, with NESCAC matchups at Wesleyan tonight and at Conn. College tomorrow afternoon. All three teams remain cellar-dwellers in the conference: Tufts sits at 0-4 in the league, while the Cardinals and Camels have combined for just one NESCAC victory.
This weekend's play figures to be important in determining who will qualify for the conference tournament. Eight out of the conference's 10 teams make the playoffs, and right now it appears Tufts and its two weekend opponents might end up battling for that final eighth spot when the season winds down.
"We're looking at these two games like they could possibly determine the playoffs," Beyel said. "It's a huge weekend."
"Everyone's back is against the wall to make a push for the playoffs," Pierce added. "We expect them to come out with the same intensity that we plan on coming out with. But we feel confident, especially after tonight's game, that we can come out this weekend and get two solid wins."
