DARTMOUTH, MA (December 2, 2023) -- The No. 23 Tufts University men's basketball team moved to 8-0 for the first time in program history Saturday, as five players tallied double-digits in a 79-64 road win over UMass Dartmouth in action from Tripp Athletic Center.
Prior to Saturday's game, no other team had won the first eight games of a season for the Tufts men's basketball team. Tufts has been playing intercollegiate basketball since 1904.
The new record-setting start came thanks to a hot shooting performance for the Jumbos, as Tufts shot a season-best 59.3 percent from the floor which included 60 points in the painted area.
The Jumbos scored the opening bucket of the game 21 seconds into the action on a
Casey McLaren lay-up, and never trailed or were tied again from that point on. Tufts scored 10 of the game's first 12 points including a
Jay Dieterle jumper four minutes in to make it 10-2.
Tufts would push its lead up to 19 points at 27-8 with 11:53 to go on a nice backdoor pass from
Bobby Stewart to
Trumann Gettings. Another Dieterle jumper with 7:11 to play in the first half made it a 20-point game, and a three-point play from
James Morakis gave Tufts its largest lead of the frame at 39-16 with just under six to play.
After taking a 47-29 lead into the halftime break, UMass Dartmouth pushed to get its deficit into single-digits but never could as the Jumbos cruised to the 15-point win.
The Jumbos (8-0) were paced by
Scott Gyimesi, who finished with his sixth double-double of the season with 14 points and 10 rebounds, adding four helpers as well. Sophomore
James Morakis was 6-of-8 from the floor en route to 14 points and three rebounds, while Dieterle tallied 13 points and three assists.
Sophomore
Joshua Bernstein just missed a double-double with 12 points and nine rebounds, and junior
Khai Champion came off the bench to score 12 points. Tufts held a 44-29 edge on the glass on Saturday, as the Jumbos were 20-of-28 (71.4 percent) in the opening half.
Jackson Zancan posted 19 points to go with 11 rebounds for the Corsairs (1-5), and Isaac Percy and John Marcille finished with 11 and 10 points, respectively.
Tufts will travel to the University of Saint Joseph in West Hartford, CT Wednesday, December 6 at 7 p.m. in more non-conference action.
--JUMBOS--
