Box Score 
BOSTON - The Tufts University men's basketball team outscored Lesley University 55-31 in the second half to take a 99-76 victory over the Lynx in the Black Coaches Classic hosted by UMass Boston on Saturday.
Brennan Morris scored 11 of his Tufts-high 20 points in the second half, including three three-pointers. Dylan Thoerner added 10 second-half points, making all four of his field goal attempts in the period. The Jumbos made 23 of 41 shots overall in the second half (56.1 percent), including seven for 16 on threes (43.8 percent). They had 18 assists in the half, including six by Carson Cohen (pictured) and five from Tyler Aronson.
Tufts finished with five in double-figure scoring overall. In addition to Morris with 20, Thoerner had 14, Casey McLaren finished with 11 and Jay Dieterle and Bobby Stewart both had 10. Cohen put up seven points, seven assists and six rebounds. McLaren also had six boards and Dieterle five assists. The Jumbos shot 53.2 percent for the game (41/77) and made 13 of 33 threes (39.4 percent). They had assists on 71 percent of their baskets with 29 overall.
Gabe McCrary scored a game-high 32 points for Lesley and added four rebounds, three steals and two assists. Scott Barlow tallied 16 points off the bench including four three-pointers and also grabbed six rebounds.
The Jumbos had been down 19-11 early, but came back to take a 34-27 lead on a 23-8 run capped by a Morris basket with six minutes to go until halftime. The Lynx outscored Tufts by eight over the remainder of the half and led 45-44 at the break. Barlow had all 16 of his points to lead Lesley at intermission, while Morris had nine for the Jumbos.
A three by Morris 23 seconds into the second half put Tufts up 47-45 and they wouldn't trail again. The Jumbos would score the first 12 points of the half in total - five by Thoerner - and led 56-45 with 17:17 on the clock.
Morris hit a trio of big shots to keep Tufts comfortably in the lead as the second half wore on. His three at 10:04 put Tufts up 74-57, his two-pointer at 8:39 gave the Jumbos a 78-59 advantage and then another three at 4:41 had Tufts leading 86-66. A three-pointer by McLaren with 2:07 left sealed the deal for Tufts.
The Jumbos received 50 points from their bench, including a pair of three-pointers from tri-captain Will Brady. The Jumbos were also able to go deep on their bench late and Quinn Cain scored four points in a minute of action.
The victory is the first for Tufts under new head coach Brandon Linton. The Black Coaches Classic is a special one-day tournament which featured four of the just seven NCAA Division III men's basketball programs in Massachusetts that are coached by black head coaches. Participating in the tournament were UMass Boston, Tufts University, Lesley University and Brandeis University.
The Jumbos will play on back-to-back days as they open their home season tomorrow against Emerson at 2 PM at Cousens Gym.
