NORTON, MA (November 11, 2026) -- Sophomore guard Ricardo Nieves was stellar on both ends of the floor Wednesday evening in the 2026-27 season opener for the No. 14 Tufts University men's hoops team, tallying a game-high 16 points along with five assists and six steals to lead the Jumbos to a 72-52 win at Wheaton College in non-conference action. 

Nieves picked up where he left off as a first-year, using his elite athleticism defensively to get the Jumbos out into transition. Tufts (1-0) also held a decided height advantage over the Lyons (1-1), as the Jumbos posted a 44-28 edge in points in the paint. 

The Jumbos took the lead 10 seconds into the game and never gave it up for the remainder of the game, as a backdoor lay-up by senior Jon Medley off of a nice pass from junior Robbie Nyamwaya set the tone for the contest. Tufts would score seven of the game's first eight points, and used an 11-0 run later in the first stanza to take a 20-6 lead after a Griffin Linstra tip-in. 

Wheaton trimmed its deficit down to nine points with 6:45 to go in the first half on a lay-up by All-American Dimetri Iafrate, but Tufts pushed it back out to a 15-point spread after back-to-back scores from Nyamwaya. The lead for the Jumbos would swell up to as much as 17 just before the half on a three-pointer by Lukas Schmid, as Tufts led 38-21 at the intermission. 

The Jumbos would continue to cruise in the second half, leading by as many as 22 late in the contest on a triple from Linstra as Tufts posted its biggest margin of victory in a season opener since defeating Bridgewater State by 22 back in 2024-25. 

Nieves shot 7-of-14 for the game, making all five of his shots inside the three-point arc, while nailing his last two three-pointers of the game to get to his point total. Nyamwaya showed the promise that he has flashed in previous seasons, going for a career-high 15 points on 7-of-12 shooting, adding a team-high nine rebounds along with five assists and three blocks. The rebound and block totals were also career-bests. 

Linstra started for the first time in his career Wednesday, and stuffed the stat sheet with 10 points on 4-of-8 shooting while adding seven rebounds. Senior Dylan Reilly finished with eight points, eight caroms and two blocks, while Schmid came off the bench to pout in nine points while corralling four boards. 

Junior Evan Reeves was effective in his 12 minutes, going 3-for-4 from the floor including a vicious ally-oop dunk, adding six rebounds as well. Senior Jon Medley also had a highlight throwdown during the game, and had six points, six rebounds and three assists. 

Tufts shot 46.9 percent as a team, which included going 23-of-34 on two-point attempts (67.6 percent). The Jumbos dominated on the glass with a 50-33 edge in the rebound column. Tufts did struggle with turnovers though, giving away the rock 17 times which turned into 16 points for Wheaton. 

The Lyons were led by Sean Perri and his 14 points, while Iafrate had 13 points and four steals. Wheaton shot 29.3 percent overall, as the length of Tufts saw the Lyons hit only two of their 23 three-point attempts (8.7 percent).

The Jumbos are now 16-4 all-time against the Lyons, winning the last five match-ups dating back to the 2005-06 season. 

Tufts will continue its road swing to start the campaign, as it will head to New York University for the NYC Collegiate Classic this weekend. The Jumbos will take on Union College Saturday evening at 7 p.m. at NYU's John Paulson Center, turning around Sunday to square off with No. 22 Johns Hopkins University at 1 p.m.