Box Score MEDFORD – The No. 6 Tufts men's basketball team held off No. 15 Middlebury through a nail biting second half to pick up a 91-85 win over the Panthers Friday night in NESCAC basketball action in Cousens Gym. The Jumbos had six different players in double digits, including all five starters.
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| Vincent Pace finished with 15 points and six rebounds Friday night. |
The Jumbos are now 12-2 overall and 3-0 in NESCAC play. The setback was the first conference loss of the season for the Panthers, as they are now 11-2 overall and 2-1 in NESCAC play.
The Jumbos would strike first as junior Vincent Pace sunk a three, followed by two free throws from senior tri-captain Tarik Smith and a jumper from Pace that gave the Jumbos the 7-0 advantage early. The two teams would trade points for a while until Middlebury was able to cut the lead a bit about seven minutes into the half. Six straight points from Eric McCord brought the Panthers within three, 15-12. With the Jumbos ahead 12-18 thanks to a three from junior Everett Dayton, Matt St. Amour drained back-to-back threes for the Panthers to tie the game at 18 with just over 11 minutes remaining in the half.
The Panthers would take a 21-18 lead thanks to a three from Matt Folger, but Pace tied the game just seconds later with one of his own from downtown. Once again the two teams traded points, but junior KJ Garrett put the Jumbos head for good with a three with 8:20 left on the clock. That was followed by four points from freshman Patrick Racy, and junior Ben Engvall added a layup with 6:34 remaining to give the Jumbos the seven point advantage, 32-25.
Tufts would take a 48-37 advantage into the break. The Panthers outrebounded the Jumbos in the first half 30-18, but the Jumbos shot 45.9 percent from the field and 41.7 from three point range, compared to Middlebury's 35.1 and 23.1 percent, respectively.
It was Middlebury that started the second half hot, scoring five quick points to come within five, 50-45, less than two minutes into the second half. The Jumbos would hold on to that lead for a bit, but St. Amour made back-to-back threes to give the Panthers the one point lead, 56-55 with 13:58 remaining in the game. Jake Brown added two points 18 seconds later to give the Panthers the three point advantage, 58-55.
Garrett answered with a layup for the Jumbos to come within one, 58-57, and the two teams would trade points and the lead nearly the rest of the game. Brown made two free throws with 1:15 left on the clock to lock the score at 84, and Daly nailed one of two from the charity stripe to give the Panthers the 85-84 advantage with 1:01 left on the clock.
Palleschi answered with a layup down on the Jumbos end of the court to give the home team the 86-85 lead with 46 seconds remaining. Palleschi was then huge on the other end of the court, blocking a McCord layup that would have given the Panthers the lead, and Smith collected the rebound for the Jumbos and was quickly fouled. He made both to give the Jumbos the 88-85 lead. The Panthers had one more chance to tie the game, but an untimely turnover gave the Jumbos back the ball with 12 seconds left and they held on for the 91-85 win.
Dayton was the point leader for the Jumbos, finishing with 16 and Pace tallied 15. Palleschi finished with ten points and six rebounds along with three blocks. Engvall turned in 11 points and Smith finished with 12 points. Garrett helped with 11 points and six rebounds off the bench for the Jumbos. Racy turned in a season-high eight points off the bench.
St. Amour was the point leader for the Panthers, finishing with 23. McCord turned in 22 points and eight rebounds off the bench for the Panthers. Brown finished with 11 points and seven assists.
The Panthers will continue NESCAC play with a trip to Bates tomorrow for a 3 pm start. Tufts will stay at home and host Hamilton on Saturday with a 2 pm scheduled tip off.
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