One day after dropping their first game of the season at Emerson, 78-71, the Jumbos appeared destined for back-to-back losses Saturday as they took on the Wentworth Leopards at Cousens Gym. Tufts fell behind big in the first half and again in the second, but an explosive offense showed up eventually to score 57 second-half points and win 84-73.
The Jumbos were ice cold early, starting the game 1-for-13 from the field. The Leopards took full advantage, grabbing leads of 18-3 and 27-7.
But Tufts began to come alive as freshman point guard Tarik Smith hit a layup and a pair of free throws. Then, senior forward Tommy Folliard and senior tri-captain guard Kwame Firempong each nailed a three. Trailing 34-19 with 3:33 left in the first half, the Jumbos scored the last eight points of the period to decrease the margin to 34-27.
Early in the second half, the Leopards took over once more to regain a double-digit lead, 52-39. But once again the Jumbos scraped their way back. With 6:20 left, they tied the game at 61 on an alley-oop from Smith to freshman center Hunter Sabety.
In a game of runs, the Jumbos had the last and longest laugh, outscoring the Leopards 23-12 in the final six minutes. After earning its first three victories comfortably, Tufts showed some resiliency to come from behind and improve to 4-1.
It was a tale of two halves for the Jumbos. They shot 33.3 percent from the field in the first 20 minutes and 64.3 percent in the second 20. They hit 7-of-12 3-pointers in the second half.
Folliard continued his renaissance season offensively, converting 4-of-6 4-pointers to finish with a career-high 20 points. The senior is now shooting nearly 67 percent from the field and has reached double figures in points in all five games.
Firempong led the Jumbos with 23 points, while Sabety posted 18 points and nine rebounds. Sabety is first on the team in points (15.8), rebounds (7.6) and blocks (1.8) per game.
For the Leopards, the lone player to score more than 11 points was sophomore guard Ronnie Turner, who finished with 27. But Turner also turned the ball over eight times, helping Tufts score 22 points off turnovers.
The Jumbos, who have won four of their first five games for the second time in three years, have seven non-conference games remaining before they begin their NESCAC schedule on Jan. 12. They host MIT tomorrow at 7 p.m.
