MEDFORD, MA (February 9, 2024) -- Sophomore big man
Joshua Bernstein scored a lay-up with just under a second remaining to send the contest to overtime, and the Tufts University men's hoops squad dominated the extra session to earn a big 82-70 New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) victory over Wesleyan University in play from Cousens Gymnasium Friday evening.
The finish by Bernstein was not an easy one, as he caught a pass under the rim and had to finish a reverse lay-up in traffic to tie the game at 67. In the extra period, Bernstein started the frame with a bucket and a free throw followed by a throw down by
Scott Gyimesi to give the Jumbos a five-point edge. Nicky Johnson answered with a floater in the paint, but the that was the last field goal Wesleyan would make on the night . Tufts finished the game on a 10-1 run, forcing the Cardinals into 0-for-6 shooting down the stretch.
In the opening stanza, Wesleyan scored 10 of the game's first 14 points capped by a bucket from Sam Pohlman but Tufts rallied with an 11-0 run to take a five-point edge with 10:24 to go. The lead for the hosts would get as high as 11 in the opening frame, as Gyimesi put Tufts up 34-23 on a layup as the Jumbos led 34-26 at the break.
Wesleyan would quickly fight back in the second half, as a 37-28 lead with 17:11 to play was erased by a 14-2 run that put the Cardinals ahead 42-39. The two teams would exchange the lead 11 times in the second half, as the last two-possession lead for either team came with 11:50 to go in the game after a
Khai Champion three made it 46-42 for Tufts. After that, it was nip and tuck down the stretch, as
Jon Medley hit a three-pointer with 1:11 to go to give Tufts its lead back at 65-64.
The Cardinals struck right back as Nicky Johnson nailed a three-pointer to make it 67-65 Wesleyan with 41 seconds left. After a missed jumper by Tufts, Wesleyan went to the line in the one-and-one but missed the front end to give the Jumbos another shot. Tufts would miss their three-point attempt to take the lead, but once again a missed free throw gave Tufts another life. On the last possession,
Jay Dieterle got the ball up top and found Bernstein underneath to send the game to overtime.
With the victory, Tufts has now won five of its last six games and clinched a spot in the NESCAC Tournament next weekend. The Jumbos are tied with Amherst College for fourth in the standings at 5-4, but the Mammoths knocked off Tufts earlier this season for the tiebreaker.
Gyimesi shook off a slow start Friday to post a team-high 17 points on 8-of-14 shooting, adding 14 rebounds for his 16th double-double this season. Bernstein was 7-of-10 from the floor, scoring 15 points to go with six rebounds and two blocks, while Champion added 14 points off the bench. Dieterle also posted a double-double for the Jumbos, scoring 10 points to go with a career-best 10 boards and four assists.
Medley tallied nine points and seven rebounds, also playing strong defense all night, and sophomore
James Morakis tallied eight points and three rebounds. The Jumbos were 30-of-70 (42.9 percent) from the floor on the night Friday, making 7-of-22 from behind the three-point line. Tufts did shot it well at the line, connecting on 15 of its 21 attempts from the stripe. The hosts also benefited from a 27-3 edge in bench points, and also tallied 44 points in the paint.
Shane Regan led all scorers with 25 points, going 9-of-20, while playing all 45 minutes on Friday. Johnson added 15 points, seven rebounds and six assists for the Cardinals, who knocked down 43.5 percent from the three-point line. The Achilles' heel though for Wesleyan was its free-throw shooting, making just 6-of-14 (42.9 percent) at the line.
Tufts will honor its two seniors in Dieterle and
Casey McLaren on Saturday at 3 p.m, hosting No. 9 Trinity College for Senior Day for the regular season finale inside Cousens Gymnasium.
--JUMBOS--
