MEDFORD, MA (February 22, 2023) -- The Tufts University men's basketball team continues its run in the 2023 New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) Tournament as they now turn to the semifinals and finals this weekend, hosted at Williams College at Chandler Gymnasium.
Championship Details:
2023 NESCAC Men's Basketball Championships
Dates: Saturday, February 25 - Sunday, February 26
Location: Williamstown, MA – Chandler Gymnasium (Directions)
Coverage: TOURNAMENT WEBSITE
The Jumbos enter the weekend with an 19-6 record and 6-4 NESCAC record on the year including five of their last six. Tufts entered the NESCAC Tournament as the No. 5 seed and went on the road to defeat No. 4 seed Middlebury College on Saturday 89-80 in 2OT.
Tufts is led by Senior Dylan Thoerner, who scored 14 of his 30 points in the two overtime periods to help push the Jumbos past the higher seeded Panthers. The game was tightly contested throughout as it featured 12 lead changes and 10 tie scores. Tufts used a 10-1 run in the second overtime to prevail and move onto the semifinal round of the NESCAC Tournament.
The Jumbos have the No. 1 scoring offense in the conference as they score about 77 points per game. Tufts is ranked No. 2 in the conferences in field goal percentage as they shoot about 48% from the field and they share the ball well as they average about 17 assists a game. Thoerner has the No. 5 scoring average in the conference as he averages 15.7 points per game along with shooting 44% from behind the three-point line. Along with Thoerner is senior guard Carson Cohen who is top 10 in assists per game along with having one of the best assist-to-turnover ratios as well.
The semifinal opponent for the Jumbos is the No. 2 seed Hamilton College. Hamilton enters the semifinal round with a 17-8 record and a 7-3 NESCAC record. The Continentals defeated Connecticut College in their quarterfinal matchup in Clinton, NY 64-59. Hamilton trailed by three at halftime before outscoring Connecticut College in the second half to secure the victory. Senior forward Eric Anderson led the way as he scored 21 points and added 10 rebounds. He is inside the top 10 in the conference in both points per game and rebounds per game.
In the previous matchup earlier this season between Tufts and Hamilton at Cousens Gymnasium, the Jumbos were victorious by a score of 57-54. Tyler Aronson led the way for the Jumbos with 19 points while Anderson scored 22 points. After Tufts had taken a lead going into halftime, the Continentals came charging back in the second half as the game would come down to the final play. After Aronson made two big free throws to put the Jumbos up three, it was Anderson's three-pointer as time expired that missed and gave the Jumbos the home victory.
The other semifinal matchup features the No. 1 seed Williams College Ephs squaring off with the No. 6 seed Colby College Mules. In their previous matchup Williams defeated Colby 79-70 at home. The Ephs led the whole way as they had three players score double digits with senior guard Spencer Spivy leading the way with 20 points missing one shot all afternoon.
Williams defeated No. 8 seed Trinity College in their NESCAC quarterfinal matchup in Williamstown, MA, 62-47. The Ephs were led by senior center Nate Karren who recorded a double-double in the matchup. Karren is third in the conference with 36 blocks this season while Spiby is fifth in the conference in steals averaging 1.4 steals per game. As a team, Williams leads the NESCAC in both field goal percentage and team three-point percentage along with giving up the fewest points per game.
Colby entered the NESCAC tournament as the No. 6 seed and winner of seven of their last eight. The Mules went on the read and defeated Wesleyan in their NESCAC quarterfinal matchup, 82-80 in overtime. After being down seven at halftime, the Mules would score the final four points of the game to force overtime and then hit a free throw late to seal the victory. Colby had four players score double digit points while shooting 48% from the field.
Freshman Max Poulton leads the Mules scoring 12.7 points per game while shooting about 45% from the field and 38% from behind the three-point line. Senior Will King is No. 2 in the conference with 150 assists and averaging 6.3 assists per game. The offense for the Mules is ranked No. 2 in the conference scoring 76 points per game.
Action starts at Chandler Gymnasium at 4:30 p.m. Saturday for the No. 5 seed Tufts against No. 2 seed Hamilton. The first semifinal game between No. 1 seed Williams and No. 6 seed Colby is scheduled to start at 2:00 PM. If Tufts were to advance, the Jumbos would play Sunday in the NESCAC Championship game against the winner of Williams and Colby at 12:00 p.m.
--JUMBOS--
