THOUSAND OAKS, CA (December 30, 2023) -- The No. 5 Tufts University men's basketball team put five players in double figures Saturday afternoon, rebounding from its first loss of the season with an 84-72 non-conference victory over UT Dallas in play from the Gilbert Sports Center.
Sophomore
Scott Gyimesi led the group of five players in double digits with 15 points, while classmate
James Morakis added 14 points and and nine rebounds for the Jumbos. Senior
Jay Dieterle tallied 12 points, junior
Khai Champion came off the bench to post 11 points, and senior
Casey McLaren hit four of his six shots for 10 points.
The game was close throughout the first half, but UT Dallas (6-5) used an 11-0 run to take a 17-10 lead with 11:17 to go in the frame after a Nick Donnelly jumper. First-year
Liam Kennelly hit a jumper to start an 8-0 run capped by four straight points from Morakis.
The Comets rallied back to take a 31-25 lead with four minutes to go in the opening stanza, but an 18-4 run to finish the frame for the Jumbos gave Tufts a 43-34 lead at the break.
Tufts used the late run in the first half as momentum going into the second, as the Jumbos started the second half on an 11-0 run to take a 54-34 lead three minutes in. The Comets would whittle the Tufts lead down to nine with 12:30 to play, but another 11-0 run by Tufts over the next two minutes made it a 20-point lead again for Tufts.
The Jumbos led the rest of the way as they led by at least double digits for the remainder of the game.
In addition to the five in double figures, sophomore Joshua Bernstain tallied six points, four rebounds and three blocks in 15 minutes, while first-year
Jon Medley came off the bench to record six points, four boards and four assists.
Tufts shot 47.8 percent (33-69) for the game, while knocking down 10 of its 27 shots from behind the arc. The 10 three-pointers made were a season-high for the Jumbos, as Tufts posted a solid 21-5 edge in fast break points while adding a 25-14 advantage in points off turnovers.
Page scored a game-high 21 points for the Comets, while Donnelly tallied 19 points and Donovan Souter added 16 points.
Tufts (11-1) returns to play on Tuesday afternoon to open the New Year, traveling to Colby-Sawyer College at 3 p.m. for non-conference play in New London, NH.
--JUMBOS--
