HARTFORD, CT (March 8, 2024) -- The Tufts University men's basketball team saw it's memorable 2023-24 season come to an end on Friday night in the 2024 NCAA Division III Tournament Sweet 16 round, as the Jumbos were topped by No. 3 Trinity College 70-53 in action from Ray Oosting Gymnasium on the campus of Trinity College.
The Jumbos finish their season 21-8, making their fifth trip to the NCAA Sweet 16 round and first since the 2020 campaign. Trinity will host Calvin University Saturday at 7:45 p.m. in the NCAA Quarterfinals after the Knights topped Randolph-Macon College in the first game of the day.
The atmosphere inside Oosting Gymnasium was rowdy as both squads had a strong contingent between a pair of New England Small Conference Athletic Conference (NESCAC) foes. The first half featured five lead changes between two teams familiar with each other, as the squads struggled to get much going offensively against two strong defensive teams.
The Jumbos led by four at 13-9 with 12:01 go to in the first half on a three-pointer by
Khai Champion, but the Bantams (29-1) went on a 7-0 run to take a 16-13 lead after a triple from Ben Callahan-Gold. The lead would grow up to 22-15, but a triple from Champion with 38 seconds to play in the half made if 25-21 at the break.
Tufts shot just 29.2 percent from the floor in the first half, but the Jumbos forced Trinity into 28.6 percent shooting (8-28) in the first half though five of the eight made field goals for the hosts were from behind the three-point arc.
The first seven minutes of the second half were tight, as Trinity held a one-possession lead until
Trumann Gettings hit a bucket to tie the game at 32. Gettings made a jumper in the paint to give the Jumbos the lead on the next possession, getting the Tufts' crowd into the game.
After a bucket from Trinity, Champion scored on a driving lay-up and first-year
Liam Kennelly drilled a three-pointer from the right wing to five the Jumbos a 39-37 lead. After a media timeout, Trinity came out and scored the next nine points to take a 46-39 edge before Gettings ended the run with 7:05 to play.
Trinity scored the next five points, and despite eight points over the next three minutes by first-year
Jon Medley, the Bantams would pull away to earn the home victory.
Medley and Champion finished with team-highs of 10 points for the Jumbos, while Medley added seven rebounds and three assists. Sophomore
Joshua Bernstein tallied six points and 10 rebounds, blocking three shots, while sophomore
Scott Gyimesi finished with five boards and 12 boards including seven on the offensive glass. Gyimesi ended the year with 319 rebounds in 2023-24, the fourth-most in a season in program history.
Gettings posted six points on 3-of-4 shooting, and sophomore
James Morakis recorded eight points and five rebounds. The Jumbos did well on the glass on Friday night, winning the rebounding edge 47-37, but Trinity turned the ball over just three times all night.
Trinity's Henry Vetter tallied 25 of his 28 points in the second half, as he was 8-of-14 overall and 4-of-8 from behind the three-point line. Callahan-Gold also recorded 10 points for the Bantams, who shot 10-of-23 (43.5 percent) from deep.
The Jumbos will graduate seniors
Casey McLaren and
Jay Dieterle, both of which started all 29 games in 2023-24.
--JUMBOS--
