If it wasn't already clear that this men's basketball season was different from last year's, Tuesday's game made that fact impossible to miss.
Just one year ago, after talk of Lesley being weak competition, the Jumbos found themselves staring in disbelief as the Lynx hit a three-pointer in the last 14 seconds to win 57-55. But Tuesday night, the Jumbos pounded the Lynx into Cousens Gym's floor with an 86-39 win that included points from every member of the Tufts roster.
The win marked not only a change from last season, but a defensive turnaround that the program has craved for years. The 39 points Lesley managed are the fewest allowed by the program in 53 years, and the margin of victory is the largest since the squad trounced Endicott by 47 in 1995.
"I think last year, we took them lightly," junior guard Amauris Quezada said. "Two years ago, we beat them by a substantial margin and we headed into last year's game thinking they were just going to fold over and give us the win. They hung in there the entire game last year and stole it from us at the end. This year, we knew we couldn't let Lesley stick around."
Tufts was dominant right out of the gate. After shaking off a brief 5-3 deficit with a 13-0 run, the Jumbos never let the Lynx get close again. Lesley only got within 10 points twice in the period, but the Jumbos never seemed to feel the pressure.
By halftime, Tufts held a comfortable 22-point lead, 36-14. Sophomore Scott Anderson led the team with a 14-point, seven-rebound first half performance that the Lynx simply could not match.
Anderson continued to be Lesley's worst nightmare in the second half, helping to push the lead to 33 with a 13-2 run out of the locker room. The Lynx's unraveling only got worse as the Jumbos gained even more momentum, eventually making the score 61-20 on a 3-point shot from freshman Andrew Dowton. From there, the starters took a rest as the reserves continued to rattle Lesley until the final buzzer, when the scoreboard read 86-39.
"I think it all stemmed from the defense," Anderson said. "We were all involved in defense — talking and communicating — and that translated to the offensive side of the ball. Last year, we were shooting outside a lot and this year we were able to work the inside a lot better, too."
The game was a testament to the team's biggest and newest strengths: depth and team-wide confidence. All 13 active players put at least two points on the board for the Jumbos, and every forward earned multiple rebounds. The freshmen combined for 27 points, while the bench totaled 46 for the Jumbos.
Defense was also on point all-around for the Jumbos, who held Lesley to a dismal 27.7 shooting percentage from the field while causing 23 turnovers. Tufts also finished with a 45-36 advantage on the boards, led by Anderson's nine and seven from junior tri-captain James Long.
Still, the Lesley game should be taken with a grain of salt, as tougher competition awaits. The Jumbos now face a demanding schedule of five games in the next eight days before heading home for the holidays, and a solid run before facing NESCAC competition will be key to keeping the team's new dynamic flowing. Tufts will also have to prove it can win on the road, as the team travels to Keene State.
"The most important thing to take away from this game is the energy we had for 40 minutes," Quezada said. "Last week, when we went on the road to face Regis, we saw what can happen when we don't bring the energy. Against Keene State on the road, it will be important for us to bring the energy and get off to a good start. … We'll have to wear them down in transition and really execute on offense. We only have one practice really to get ready for them but as long as we stick to what we do, we should be fine."
"The coaches said after the game that we should be happy and celebrate the moment but that Lesley wasn't a good team," Anderson said. "We know Keene State is a good team with a six-foot-10 transfer that is supposed to be dominant. … We can't settle because we have a lot of better teams coming up so we have to keep working."
