Box Score MEDFORD – Junior Luke Rogers tallied 25 points and grabbed a career-high 23 rebounds in the Tufts men's basketball team's 91-78 victory over UMass Dartmouth in non-conference action in Cousens Gymnasium on Tuesday night.
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| Sophomore Tyler Aronson hit five of five three-pointers in the first half. |
The Jumbos improve to 2-0 on the season while the Corsairs fall to 4-1.
The Corsairs jumped on the attack with a Marcus Azor layup for the first score of the contest. Junior Brennan Morris fired a triple and gave the Jumbos a lead on the next possession. Jake Ashworth and sophomore Tyler Aronson traded jump shots to keep Tufts in the lead at 5-4. Again, the teams traded points until Matt Valles gave UMass Dartmouth a 10-7 lead.
A pair of Aronson three-pointers with just over 16 minutes remaining in the half gave the Jumbos a one-point lead. However, more trading would occur after an Adam Seablom layup tied the score at 16. Over the next 1:42, the Jumbos used a 9-2 run to open a seven-point lead, the largest in the game at that point. Senior Eric Savage, Rogers, freshman Dylan Thoerner and freshman Casey McLaren all scored during the run.
After a pair of Alexander free throws, the Jumbos mounted another attack as Rogers and Aronson extended the lead to 10. The Corsairs could not find points for 3:08, which allowed the Jumbos to extend their lead to 21 at 45-24. After a free throw by Valles, the teams traded jumpers and headed to the half with Tufts leading, 47-29. Aronson led all players with 19 points while Rogers had already earned a double-double with 11 points and 12 boards. Valles led the Corsairs with seven points while Alexander had six rebounds.
Coming out of the break, the teams continued to trade points through the first couple of minutes. However, the Corsairs got hot following the momentum from a four-point play by Ashworth. He was fouled on a three-point shot that went in, and then converted on the free throw. Over the ensuing 4:07, the Corsairs outscored the Jumbos, 16-3, and cut the lead to as little as four. After quick baskets by Savage, Alexander, Thoerner, and Azor, the lead was five and another Alexander layup made it a one-possession contest.
The Jumbos quickly responded with seven points, four by Rogers and three by Morris, which got the lead back to double digits. The teams continued the story of trading baskets until the Jumbo depth was too much for UMass Dartmouth. The Jumbos extended their lead back out to as much as 17 and continued to find scores almost every time the Corsairs did down the stretch.
Rogers also added three blocks in the game. Aronson scored a career-high 24 points, dished out three assists and grabbed four rebounds. Morris earned a double-double as well with 14 points and 10 rebounds. Savage had 10 points, six assists, five rebounds, and four steals.
Seablom paced the Corsair offense with 21 points. Azor had 15 points and a team-high five assists. Alexander finished one rebound short of a double-double as he had 14 points and nine rebounds. Ashworth added 13 points.
The Jumbos return to action on Thursday when they host Lasell College. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 pm. UMass Dartmouth heads to Southern Maine to open Little East Conference (LEC) play on Saturday. They are slated to start at 3 pm.
