MEDFORD, MA (December 3, 2022) -- Starting forwards
Bobby Stewart and
Trumann Gettings combined for 31 points, while senior
Dylan Thoerner posted a game-high 19 points in leading the Tufts University men's basketball team to a 90-77 win over 2022 NCAA Sweet 16 team UMass Dartmouth in action from Cousens Gymnasium Saturday.
The Jumbos (6-1) had the strategy of working the bigs against the Corsairs, and early on that tactic was sound as Stewart and Gettings registered 12 of the team's first 17 points in taking a 17-10 lead at 14:38 of the contest.
UMass Dartmouth (1-5) trimmed the lead down to six with 8:58 to go in the first half on a three-pointer by Jackson Zancan, but Tufts finished the half on a 10-2 run to take a 12-point lead into intermission. Stewart and
Khai Champion led the way in the opening stanza with 10 points apiece, as the Jumbos shot 19-of-35 from the floor including knocking down five of their eight three-point attempts.
The Jumbos' lead fluctuated throughout the second half but never got under double-digits in cruising to the victory. Thoerner was 7-of-10 from the floor, hitting 2-of-3 from deep in the victory while Stewart collected his second career double-double of 16 points, 12 rebounds and career-high six assists. Stewart was four points shy of his career-high of 20, as he made seven of his 12 field goals in 28 minutes of action.
Gettings tied his career-high with 15 points, corralling seven rebounds and dishing out three helpers.
Carson Cohen added a season-high 10 points, nailing four of his five field goals, and Champion tallied 13 points in 16 minutes. Tufts shot a strong 53.7 percent from the field on the day, making 36-of-67 while knocking down 44.4 percent from behind the three-point arc. The 44.4 percent from downtown was the second-best shooting game of the season, bested by the 46.2 percent (6-13) clip against Babson.
Despite the solid offensive numbers, the Jumbos turned the ball over a season-high 19 teams but dominated the glass 44-24 including 18 offensive caroms for Tufts. The offensive rebounds turned into a 17-6 edge in second-chance points, and the hosts added a 46-36 edge in paint points as well.
UMass Dartmouth had five players in double figures, led by the 13 points from both Dhalyn Sanders-Dyer and Zancan. Isaac Percy poured in 12 points for the visitors, and Theo Jadotte and John Martins, Jr. each registered 11 points in the loss. UMassD shot an impressive 7-of-14 from behind the three-point line, adding a 48.4 percent shooting clip from the field on the day.
The Jumbos will return to play Sunday afternoon at 2 p.m. on the road, making the short trip across town to battle Division I Harvard University in Lavietes Pavilion in non-conference action. Sunday will be Tufts first meeting with the Crimson since 1968, as the two Boston schools renew a rivalry that currently sits with Harvard leading the all-time series 30-17 dating back to 1900.
--JUMBOS--
