CLINTON, NY (January 13, 2024) -- Host Hamilton College scored 53 second-half points, coming back to defeat the No. 11 Tufts University men's basketball team 87-82 Saturday afternoon in action from Scott Field House in New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) play.
The Jumbos (13-4, 0-3 NESCAC) led for the majority of the first half on Saturday, as
Casey McLaren connected on a three-pointer to give Tufts a 12-5 lead early in the opening stanza. The lead would continue to hold for the visitors, taking their biggest lead of the game at nine with four minutes left on a bucket by
Scott Gyimesi at 35-26.
Hamilton trimmed into its deficit down the stretch of the first half, as Hank Morgan hit 1-of-2 from the charity stripe to send the game to the break with Tufts up 37-34. For the second straight night in conference play, Tufts led at the intermission but would not be able to hold on in the second half.
The Continentals took their first lead since early in the game at 16:20 of the second half, as Teja Singh hit a triple to make the score 43-40. With the score 50-49 in favor of the Continentals, the hosts would go on an 11-3 run to take a nine-point edge at 61-52.
Hamilton's lead got up to as many as 12 points with at 67-55, but Tufts rallied to get to within four after a traditional three-point play by Gyimesi to make the score 71-67 with 3:13 to go. It would be the closest that Tufts would get until two seconds remaining, as Hamilton surged back ahead and two late free throws by Morgan sealed the win for the home team.
Sophomore
James Morakis was Tufts' leading scorer on Saturday afternoon, tallying 16 points including make seven of his 10 attempts at the charity stripe. Junior
Khai Champion scored 14 points off the bench, and Gyimesi added yet another double-double with 10 points and 11 boards. The double-double was his fifth straight and 12th of the season.
First-year
Jon Medley finished with 10 points and four rejections before fouling out, and sophomore
Joshua Bernstein added eight points, nine rebounds and a block. McLaren also recorded eight points, as Tufts was 27-of-63 (42.9 percent) from the field. The Jumbos made a season-high 11 three-pointers in the game, shooting 35.5 percent from behind the arc.
The Continentals (8-7, 3-1 NESCAC) saw both Garret Keyhani and Morgan post 26 points in the game, while Singh also recorded 21 points and 12 rebounds in the win.
Tufts will return home next Saturday afternoon, January 20 at 3 p.m., hosting Bates College inside Cousens Gymnasium in NESCAC action.
--JUMBOS--
