WORCESTER, MA (December 7, 2022) -- Senior guard
Dylan Thoerner posted a team-high 28 points as the Tufts University men's basketball fought off host Clark University 97-90 to knock the Cougars from the ranks of the unbeaten in non-conference action Wednesday evening in Worcester.
The Jumbos (7-2) were able to outlast the Cougars in overtime, but Clark did well to even get the game to the extra session. Tufts was up six at 80-74 following a pair of free throws by Thoerner, but Clark guard Isaiah Taylor scored six points in 12 seconds including a four-point play to make it 81-80 Tufts with 37 seconds to go.
After a missed jumper, Taylor was fouled with four seconds to play but his game-winning attempt at the line rimmed out and the clock expired while the loose ball was being corralled to send the game to overtime.
In the extra period, Taylor hit a jumper on Clark's first possession to put the hosts up two but Tufts responded with an 8-2 run to take a four-point edge at 89-85 following a triple from Thoerner.
Trumann Gettings would hammer home a dunk on an inbounds play with a minute to go, and Tufts was able to get stops down the stretch while clinching the game at the line.
The first half was back-and-forth the entire way, with neither team leading by more than five points. Kekoa McArdle made a lay-up with 7:45 left in the first half but Tufts responded with a 10-0 run to lead by five at 30-25. The two teams exchanged the lead six more times in the first half before the Jumbos took a 40-37 lead into halftime.
The Jumbos led by as many as seven in the second half after a lay-up by
James Morakis but the Cougars battled back to set up the exciting finish. Thoerner was 8-of-14 from the floor while hitting nine of his 11 free throws to get to his season high. The senior guard also led the squad with eight assists.
Sophomore
Khai Champion came off the bench to score a career-high 20 points, going 6-of-11 from the floor while adding three makes on seven attempts from behind the three-point arc. Gettings just missed a double-double as he tallied nine points and 12 rebounds, and
Carson Cohen posted eight points and six rebounds.
Senior
Tyler Aronson and junior
Casey McLaren both tallied eight points as well, as 10 players scored for the Jumbos Wednesday. Tufts posted a huge 41-17 lead in bench points, shooting 46.5 percent (33-71) from the field on the night. The Jumbos also hit 35.7 percent from three-point land, and was 21-of-32 (65.6 percent) from the line.
Taylor tallied a game-high 30 points for the Cougars, adding five assists and three steals. McArdle tallied a double-double of 10 points and 15 rebounds, and Mikey O'Brien also added six points, nine rebounds and eight helpers.
Tufts will finish action before the finals break on Saturday at 1 p.m. in Cousens Gymnasium, hosting Suffolk University in more non-conference play.
