LEWISTON, MAINE (February 15, 2026) -- The No. 11 Tufts University men's basketball team rallied late to hand host Bates College its first home loss of the season inside Alumni Gymnasium, topping the Bobcats 70-63 in New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) play on the final regular season day of the campaign.
The Jumbos (19-4, 8-2 NESCAC) will now serve as the No. 2 seed in the 2026 NESCAC Tournament that starts next Saturday, hosting No. 7 seed Colby College inside Cousens Gymnasium. Bates will be the No. 5 seed and travel to Amherst College Saturday for its quarterfinal match-up.
The first half was a back-and-forth affair as the largest lead of the stanza was a seven-point advantage with 5:57 to play in the opening half after a triple from junior
Zion Watt finished a 10-0 run. Bates battled back to pull to within three with 4:22 remaining in the first half, but a
Dylan Reilly three-pointer just before the buzzer gave the Jumbos a six-point edge at 37-31 going into the halftime intermission.
Senior
Scott Gyimesi led Tufts in the first half with 10 points and five rebounds, while Elliott Cravitz had 10 points for the Bobcats (17-7, 5-5 NESCAC).
The Jumbos started fast in the second half, as a triple by Reilly preceded a lay-up by classmate
Jon Medley to make it an 11-point lead for the Jumbos with just under 19 minutes to play at 42-31.
Bates answered right back with an 8-0 run, eventually pulling even at the 13:42 mark of the second half at 45 apiece on a three-pointer by Brady Coyne. Bates took its first lead of the second half with 6:50 to play at 55-53, and led by as many as three at 59-56 before Tufts climbed even at 61 after two freebies by Gyimesi with 2:31 remaining.
Tufts took the lead back at 63-61 on a bucket by Gyimesi, and two free throws by Watt gave Tufts a two-possession lead at 65-61. After Bates made two from the line and forced a turnover, the Jumbos were able to get a stop with a turnover, and first-year
Ricardo Nieves made both free throws with 26 seconds left to give the Jumbos a four-point edge at 67-63.
The Bobcats committed another turnover on their next possession, with Watt making both to help seal the win for the Jumbos.
The victory was only Tufts second in Lewiston since 2012, with the last coming in 2023.
Gyimesi finished with a double-double of 17 points and 12 rebounds, as he added three assists and two blocks on 7-of-12 shooting overall. Gyimesi moves into No. 14 in points all-time with his 1,268 points, surpassing Willie Young '73 and his 1,257 points.
Senior
Joshua Bernstein had 12 points, nine caroms and five assists for the Jumbos in the win, making 5-of-9 from the field, and Medley tallied 11 points, three rebounds and three steals.
Nieves came off the bench to spark Tufts with 12 points and three blocks, going 7-of-8 from the line, and Watt finished with seven points and three steals. Tufts was 23-of-53 overall Sunday (43.4 percent), but was aided by a strong day at the line as it went 17-of-22 for a 77.3 percent clip.
Coyne tallied 14 points in the loss for the Bobcats, while Cravitz, Sean O'Leary and Babcar Pouye each had 10 points for Bates.
Wesleyan University will be the NESCAC Tournament top seed and will play eighth-seed Connecticut College, who handed the Cardinals their only loss in conference play this season. Trinity College is the No. 3 seed and will take on No. 6 Bowdoin College in the fourth quarterfinal next Saturday.
--JUMBOS--
