CAMBRIDGE, MA (December 4, 2022) -- The Tufts University men's basketball team trailed by only five at the half at Division I Harvard University Sunday, but the Crimson used a decided edge on the glass to pull away for a 76-59 win in non-conference action from Lavietes Pavilion.
The Crimson (7-3) led by as many as 17 in the first half but back-to-back three pointers by senior
Dylan Thoerner started to spark the offense for the Jumbos. Sophomore
Trumann Gettings followed with his first triple of the season and sophomore
Khai Champion drilled consecutive threes to make it a 33-25 game with 2:07 left in the half.
The run continued for the Jumbos as senior
Theo Henry drilled a three-pointer and then picked up a steal and went in for the layup to make it 33-30 with 1:21 left in the stanza. Chris Ledlum would score two of this game-high 18 points to make it a five-point advantage for Harvard at 35-30 going into the break.
After the intermission, the game stayed within reach for Tufts (6-2) as Thoerner nailed another three-pointer to make it 45-38 with 14:55 to go in regulation. The Jumbo deficit stayed in single digits until Chisom Okpara made a layup followed by a trifecta from Luka Sakota to make it 53-40 with 12:34 remaining.
The decisive run would come over 3:20 of the second half, as the Crimson nailed 4-of-5 from the field while outscoring Tufts 11-2 to pull away for the victory. The squad expanded its rotation on the day, as everyone on the roster played Sunday.
The Jumbos shot a very strong 44.4 percent from behind the three-point arc Sunday, making 12-of-27 from behind the line. The 12 made three-pointers were the second-most this season for Tufts, as Thoerner went 5-of-9 from downtown en route to a team-high 16 points.
Champion finished with six points Sunday, and first-year
Joshua Bernstein played a career-high 14 minutes while tallying a career-high six points. Sophomore
Quinn Cain came off the bench late to tally eight points, making all three of his field goals including going 2-for-2 from deep. The big difference on the day was the rebounding numbers, as Harvard outboarded Tufts 41-22 on the game.
The Crimson were paced by 18 points from Ludlum and Sakota, while Okpara came off the bench to post 16 points and six rebounds. Tyler Simon was also 3-of-4 for nine points, as Harvard was 28-of-62 (45.2 percent) including going 14-of-31 (45.2 percent) from three-point land. The Crimson held a 25-2 edge in second-chance points Sunday.
Tufts will travel to Worcester, MA to take on Clark University Wednesday, December 7 at 7 p.m. in more non-conference action.
--JUMBOS--
