MEDFORD, MA (February 4, 2023) -- Seniors
Tyler Aronson and
Dylan Thoerner combined for 37 points Saturday, leading the Tufts University men's basketball team to a 74-68 league victory over Bowdoin College on Senior Day from Cousens Gymnasium.
The victory was a big one for the Jumbos (16-5, 5-3 New England Small College Athletic Conference), who are tied for fourth in the NESCAC heading into the final weekend of the season. The win came thanks to big contributions from the team's five seniors, as Aronson finished with 19 points to pace the Jumbos while Thoerner tallied 18 points as well. Senior
Carson Cohen tallied nine points in his final regular season home league game, while senior
Theo Henry also finished with six points. In all, the Jumbos got 52 of its 74 points from the senior class while
Kris Bortz also posted a pair of rebounds in his first career start.
The two teams stayed close through the first 10 minutes of the contest, as Tufts led 21-19 following a three-pointer from
Tyler Aronson with 8:25 remaining in the opening half. The Polar Bears (10-12, 2-6 NESCAC) would respond with a 9-0 run over the next 4:51 to take their largest lead of the game at 28-21 after a Xander Werkman lay-up. Tufts was 0-for-7 during the stretch, including missing on four triples.
Tufts would pull back to within four heading into the break, as sophomore
Bobby Stewart finished a pass from Henry with 24 seconds left in the half to make it 31-27. Bowdoin shot the ball very well from behind the arc in the first half, making 5-of-9 from deep in the stanza.
The hosts would come out quick in the second half, as Tufts recorded an 8-2 run over the first 2:20 of the game to take a 35-33 lead after a three-pointer from Thoerner. The teams would continue to hand the lead back and forth until Tufts went on a 13-2 run from 12:30 until 8:52 of the second half to take the game's biggest lead of 11 at 60-49. First-year
Joshua Bernstein and Aronson each had four points in the run.
The Polar Bears wouldn't go away though, chalking up a 14-3 run of their own thanks to nine points in the spurt by Werkman to tie the game at 63 with 4:14 left in regulation. Thoerner came right back with back-to-back three-pointers to make it a four-point game at 69-65, but a three-pointer by Michael Simonds with two minutes left made it a one-point game.
Two possessions later, first-year
Scott Gyimesi was fouled on an offensive rebound and followed by hitting the first free throw to put Tufts back up by two at 70-68. Bowdoin was fouled on its next chance, but the Polar Bears missed the front end of a one-and-one, and Thoerner made both to push it back up to a two-possession contest. Two more free throws by Gyimesi with 10 seconds to go would help clinch the game as the Jumbos held on for the win.
Aronson finished two points shy of his season-high, while going 7-fo-17 from the field including connecting on four of his nine attempts from three-point land. Thoerner was 6-of-12 from the floor while going 3-of-6 from deep, and Cohen made both of his field goals en route to nine points and three assists. Henry led the way with six assists, a career-high, while Gyimesi finished with five points and team-high nine rebounds. Bernstein also added seven points and three boards.
Tufts shot 43.5 percent (10-23) from behind the three-point arc on Saturday, while also posting a 22-4 edge in bench points and 10-0 advantage in fast break points.
The Polar Bears got a game-high 25 points from Werkman, who was 10-of-15 from the floor, adding five rebounds. Andrew Szwez went 6-of-9 for 14 points, and Simonds totaled 13 points and six rebounds in the loss.
The Jumbos will finish non-conference action Tuesday evening at 7 p.m. in Cousens Gymnasium, hosting Colby-Sawyer College.
--JUMBOS--
