MIDDLEBURY, VT (February 18, 2023) -- Senior guard
Dylan Thoerner tallied a game-high 30 points, including 14 in the two overtime periods, to lift the fifth-seeded Tufts University men's basketball team to an 89-80 upset of No. 4 seeded and No. 12 ranked Middlebury College in action from Pepin Gymnasium in the New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) quarterfinals.
With the victory, Tufts (19-6) will take on No. 2 seeded Hamilton College in the NESCAC semifinals next Saturday at 4:30 p.m. in Williamstown, MA at Williams College. Hamilton knocked off Conn. College 64-59 Saturday in one of the NESCAC quarterfinals, while No. 6 seed Colby College and top-seed Williams College were also winners to set up the other semifinal. Middlebury will now await a Pool C bid from the NCAA Tournament selection committee next Sunday.
The contest was a thriller from start to finish, as it featured 12 lead changes and 10 tie scores. In fact, the largest lead of the game was only nine by Tufts in the second half with six minutes to play, while the two teams held the lead for a near even split for the contest. Middlebury led much of the first 10 minutes of the game, taking a seven-point edge at 29-22 with 4:25 to go in the stanza on a bucket by David Brennan.
The Jumbos would roar back with a 10-0 run, capped by a four-point play from Thoerner to take a 32-31 lead into the break. Thoerner had eight points in the opening half, while nine players scored for Tufts.
Early in the second half, the two teams exchanged the lead back-and-forth until Tufts used a 9-0 run to make it 59-50 on a jumper from
Tyler Aronson with 6:21 to play. The lead held at eight points for the Jumbos until three minutes to play when Middlebury started its comeback. The Jumbos led by four with 37 seconds to go, but a four-point sequence in the final 10 seconds for the hosts tied the game at 65. A final jump shot at the buzzer for Tufts would come up just short, sending the game to overtime.
In the first overtime, Tufts never trailed during the five minute session but Middlebury had a chance to take the lead in the final 20 seconds but committed an offensive foul. On the next possession Tufts turned the ball over in the waning seconds to send the game to a second overtime. In the final period, Brennan put the Panthers on top with a lay-up on Middlebury's first chance, but the Jumbos would go on a 10-1 wun to take a seven-point edge at 81-74 following a triple from Thoerner. Tufts would ice the game at the line, making all six free throw attempts to clinch the win.
Thoerner posted his second 30-point game in the last three contests, as he finished 8-of-16 on field goals while connecting on all 11 of his chances at the line. Aronson posted 11 points and four rebounds, while
Carson Cohen tallied 10 points, five boards and three assists.
First-year Bobby Gyimesi came off the bench to play a career-high 33 minutes, grabbing a career-high 14 rebounds including six on the offensive end. Additionally, fellow newcomer
Joshua Bernstein netted seven offensive rebounds of his own in addition to eight points and two blocks.
Senior
Theo Henry came off the bench to pour in eight points on 3-of-4 shooting for Tufts, which shot just 41.1 percent (30-73) from the field, but was strong at the line making 22-of-26 at the line. Tufts also earned the rebounding edge 45-34, which included 16 offensive caroms which turned into 20 second-chance points.
Brennan finished with 16 points and nine rebounds, while Alex Sobel also tallied 16 points, nine rebounds and three blocks. Noah Osher contributed 13 points as well for the Panthers.
For more information on the NESCAC Tournament, seeding, times and coverage, log onto the NESCAC Tournament website
HERE.
--JUMBOS--
