MEDFORD, MA (January 31, 2026) -- The No. 9 Tufts University men's basketball team outscored No. 2 Trinity College 41-22 in the second half, erasing a 17-point first-half deficit to pick up a big 68-62 New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) victory on Senior Day inside Cousens Gymnasium.
The difference in the game as the Jumbos (17-3, 6-1 NESCAC) and their ability to guard in the second half, as Tufts held Trinity to just two made field goals over the last five minutes of the game allowing for the comeback. The Jumbos also forced Trinity into just 25 percent shooting in the second half, as the Bantams were only 8-of-32 in the stanza.
Trinity came out quickly in the game and scored the first 11 points of the contest before a
Scott Gyimesi jumper in the paint got the Jumbos on the board 5:26 into the ball game. The Jumbos would get as close as five with 10:37 to go in the first half on a triple from
Dylan Reilly at 15-10, but the Bantams responded with a 10-0 run to take a 25-10 edge.
The Bantams' lead would get up to as many as 17 with 2:02 to play in the first half after a Drew Lazarre three-pointer, but first-year
Ricardo Nieves hit a three-pointer to finish the frame for the Jumbos as the hosts trailed by 13 at 40-27 going to the break.
In the second half, the Jumbos decided to play a smaller, more defensive lineup and that paid dividends. Trinity continued to lead by around double digits for most of the first 10 minutes of the second half, but a 10-3 run highlighted by two Reilly three-pointers made it 53-51 Trinity with 6:45 remaining.
Trinity's Henry Vetter banked in a three-pointer on the next possession, and the Bantams continued to lead until junior
Zion Watt was fouled on a rebound and made both free throws to tie the game at 60 with just over two minutes left.
After a timeout, Vetter hit another jumper to put Trinity up 62-60 but those would be the final points the Bantams would score for the game. Nieves came right down after that made field goal by Trinity and finished a tough lay-up to deadlock the game with under two minutes left.
On the next possession, senior
Scott Gyimesi scored on a putback of an offensive rebound, and Tufts got a stop on the defensive end to get the ball with 23 seconds to play. Two free throws by
Jon Medley made it a two-possession game, and the Jumbo defense forced four missed field goals in the final minute of the game by Trinity to secure the win.
Nieves was Tufts' leading scorer on Saturday, as the first-year scored 15 points on 5-of-10 shooting which included a career-high three made trifectas. Reilly was 5-of-9 overall and 4-of-8 from deep for 14 points, adding five rebounds, and Medley had 14 points, four rebounds as he was 5-of-8 overall.
Gyimesi only took five field goals for the game, posting nine points, but pulled down a game-high 13 rebounds. Sophomore Robbie Nyamway also had a strong game off the bench with eight points, six assists and six rebounds. Watt tallied seven points and five rebounds as well, hitting one of the Jumbos' 11 made three-pointers Saturday.
Tufts bench outscored the Bantams 58-14, and only led for a total of 1:04 of the game. The combos including five of the six of Reilly, Medley, Nieves, Gyimesi, Nyamwaya and Watt outscored Trinity 36-22 for the game.
The Jumbos shot a very strong 40.7 percent from three-point land (11-27), including going 5-of-9 (55.6 percent) in the second half. The win over Trinity was the first over the Bantams since 2023 and the first inside Cousens Gymnasium since 2022.
Jarrel Okorougo finished with 16 points to lead Trinity Saturday, while Vetter added 14 points. Tristan Davis also tallied 10 points and eight rebounds, blocking two shots.
The win for Tufts coupled with Wesleyan University's loss at Connecticut College resulted in Tufts and Wesleyan being tied atop the NESCAC standings at 6-1. Wesleyan holds the tie-breaker over the Jumbos due to the the Cardinals' win in the head-to-head match-up.
Prior to the game, the Jumbos honored the five seniors in Gyimesi,
Joshua Bernstein,
Theo Liu,
Sidney Wooten and
James Morakis. The quintet is the all-time winningest senior group in school history, as they now sit with 79 wins in their careers.
Tufts will now hit the road for the final three games of the regular season, traveling to Amherst College Friday, February 6 at 7 p.m. for more NESCAC action.
--JUMBOS--
