BRUNSWICK, MAINE (January 9, 2026) -- The No. 13 Tufts University men's basketball team extended its program-record win streak to 12 games on Friday evening, as the Jumbos outscored host Bowdoin College by 10 in the second half to pull away for an 81-69 win over Bowdoin College in action from Morrell Gymnasium in the New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) opener for both teams.
The depth in scoring for the Jumbos was massive, as Tufts was able to put five players in double digits to help offset the game-high 28 points from NESCAC leading scorer Ray Cuevas. Senior
Sidney Wooten had a career-high in the victory, as he was 4-of-7 overall and 4-of-6 from three-point land for a team-best 16 points.
Bowdoin burst out of the gate with the contest's first nine points over the opening four minutes before a bucket from senior
Joshua Bernstein put the Jumbos on the board. Tufts would come all the way back to take the lead with 9:12 left in the first half on a lay-up by
Dylan Reilly at 13-12, leading by as many as five points at 29-24 with 3:31 to play in the first frame.
Bowdoin put together an 8-0 run capped by a three-pointer by Cuevas to make it 32-29 Polar Bears, but a dunk by junior
Zion Watt followed by a Wooten triple gave Tufts a 34-32 lead at the break.
Tufts slowly built its lead up to 10 over the first 5:35 of the second half, as another dunk by Watt gave the Jumbos a 48-38 lead. Two free throws by first-year
Ricardo Nieves gave the Jumbos a 52-40 lead, but Bowdoin came back to get as close as four with just under eight minutes left at 58-54 on two free throws by Cuevas.
The Jumbos responded with seven straight points to regain an 11-point edge with 5:14 to play, and Tufts was able to keep the Polar Bears at a comfortable distance for the remainder of the game to clinch the victory.
The win was the 10th straight over the Polar Bears, while the 81 points scored against Bowdoin were the most since putting 85 up in an 85-73 win over Bowdoin in 2020.
Reilly scored 14 points, hitting three three-pointers, while senior
Scott Gyimesi tallied another double-double of 14 points and 12 rebounds. He moved into No. 19 all-time in scoring, as he now has 1146 for his career as he passed Ryan O'Keefe and his 1135. He also has three straight double-doubles and six in his last seven outings.
Senior
Joshua Bernstein had 13 points, making all six of his field goals, adding nine rebounds and three blocks in 29 minutes of action. Nieves recorded 10 points as well, and Watt tallied six points before fouling out.
Tufts was 27-of-55 from the field, shooting 49.1 percent overall, while making 20 of its 28 shots from the charity stripe (71.8 percent).
Cuevas was 8-of-17 overall, going 10-of-11 at the line in getting to the game-high total. Kevin Reeves added 10 points as well for the Polar Bears.
The Jumbos take on Colby College Saturday at 3 p.m. in NESCAC action in Waterville, Maine in their next outing.
--JUMBOS--
