Box Score 
WALTHAM – The Tufts University men's basketball team defeated the Salem State University Vikings 78-52 on Friday in the first round of the New England Big 4 Challenge hosted by Brandeis University.
Freshman Bobby Stewart had a breakout game for the Jumbos, finishing with a career-high 20 points off the bench with eight rebounds. He was 8 for 12 from the field and finished 4 for 5 from the free throw line. Dylan Thoerner (pictured) was the second leading scorer for Tufts with 11 points, four rebounds, and an assist, shooting 100-percent(4-4) from the field and beyond the arc (2-2). Josiah Green led the Vikings with eight points and five rebounds with an assist and a steal.
Salem State controlled the start of the game playing aggressive zone defense and going on an 8-2 run on three jump shots, two from Green, and a layup. The Jumbos' first points came on two free throws made by Stewart, followed by a three-pointer from Will Brady for the team's first field goal. The ball pressure from the Vikings continued to disrupt the Tufts offense, giving Salem State the opportunity to take a 10-5 lead on another jumper from Green. This is when Tufts began to turn it on, starting with another three-pointer from Brady to cut the Viking lead to two.
The early part of the game continued as a back-and-forth battle with the two teams trading baskets. The Jumbos took their first lead of the game 11 minutes in with a Stewart layup to make it 16-14 in favor of Tufts after a Carson Cohen layup had tied it up at 14. Stewart had eight of the Jumbos' first 16 points. The Cohen layup that tied the game at 14 was the start to a 9-0 run for Tufts which included six different scorers and a Casey McLaren three-pointer to make the score 23-14. The Jumbos finished off the half with a 14-7 run that included another eight points for Stewart as he dominated the paint in the first half, helping give Tufts a 37-21 lead at halftime.
The Jumbos did not let their foot off the gas in the second half, adding onto their 8-0 run that they ended the first half. Thoerner started off the second half with a three-pointer that was immediately followed by another Tufts three-pointer from Brennan Morris. A stout Jumbo defense got them the ball back once again and Thoerner hit a jump shot followed by a layup for a 10-0 run to start the half. Vikings senior Connor Byrne broke up the Jumbos' run with a layup, but Morris responded with another three-pointer on the next possession. Salem State sophomore Deven Okowuga then sunk the Vikings' first three-pointer of the game to make the score 51-26.
This kick-started an 8-2 run for Salem State that included layups from senior Javier Osorio and Okowuga. However, it seemed that whenever the Vikings started to get in a rhythm, the Jumbos would come back with a run of their own, as Tufts responded to the 8-2 Vikings run with three made shots in a row. McLaren and junior Tyler Aronson hit consecutive mid-range jumpers and McLaren followed that up with another three-pointer to make the score 60-34 in favor of the Jumbos. Tufts would cruise through the remainder of the game, with more points from Stewart, three-pointers from Theo Henry and Cohen and three straight baskets from freshman Khai Champion, including a jumper while falling down to give the Jumbos a dominant 78-52 victory.
With the win, Tufts advances to the championship game of the New England Big 4 Challenge on Saturday, when they will take on host Brandeis at 3 PM at Red Auerbach Arena at Brandeis.
Written by Tim O'Brien, Athletic Communications Intern
