MIDDLETOWN, CT (March 14, 2026) -- The No. 12 Tufts University men's basketball team outscored host and No. 17 Wesleyan University 44-22 in the opening half, withstanding a furious second-half charge by the Cardinals to earn a spot in the NCAA Division III Quarterfinals with a 75-61 win in action from Silloway Gymnasium Saturday in the NCAA Third Round.
The win pushes the Jumbos (23-5) into just their second Elite Eight in program history, as Tufts will now head to Ft. Wayne, Indiana for the NCAA Quarterfinals to take on another New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) foe in Trinity College Thursday at 6:30 EDT. The Bantams defeated Hood College today 88-71 in Hartford.
The first-half dominance was the story of the contest for the Jumbos, who doubled up the host Cardinals while Tufts allowed only six made field goals in the opening 20 minutes. Tufts tied the game up at four after a bucket from
Joshua Bernstein two minutes into the game, and that started a 16-0 run for the Jumbos that finished with a jumper from senior
Scott Gyimesi to make it 18-4 at the 13:15 mark.
The Jumbos lead would hover around 12 points until a 9-0 run at the end of the half highlighted by a pair of three-pointers by first-year
Ricardo Nieves made it 44-22 going to the halftime intermission.
Nieves was the star of the first half, as he posted 19 points in the opening stanza on a perfect 6-of-6 from the field while making all three of his three-point attempts. Tufts was 15-of-28 (53.8 percent) in the first half, going a stellar 10-of-11 at the line in the period.
Wesleyan came out quick in the second half and charged back into the game with a 13-2 run to make it a 53-46 game with 10:33 to play on a bucket by Zach Wolinski. Minutes later, Oscar Edelman hit a three-pointer with 8:43 remaining to make it 55-51 but Tufts responded as a dunk by junior
Zion Watt started a 13-5 run that put Tufts back up by 12 with 3:36 to go.
Down the stretch, Tufts relied on Bernstein and junior
Jon Medley, as Bernstein scored on back-to-back possessions before five straight points from Medley put the Jumbos up by 13 at 71-58 with just under three minutes to go.
The Cardinals would go cold from the floor, and a dunk from Nieves was the exclamation point in the win as the Jumbos punched their ticket to the quarterfinals for the first time since 2016.
Nieves finished with 21 points on 7-of-11 shooting, adding six rebounds and two steals in the win. Bernstein was once again stellar, as he finished with 17 points, 12 rebounds, four assists and two blocks for the Jumbos. Bernstein was 7-of-13 overall.
Medley connected on 5-of-11 overall for 16 points, making all of his five free throws, while Watt and Gyimesi each had nine points apiece. Tufts shot 48.2 percent overall from the floor (27-56), while going 15-of-10 at the line.
Tufts held a 16-7 edge in points off turnovers, while dominating inside with a 38-20 edge in points in the paint. The Jumbos turned the ball over just six times all game, the fewest this season for Tufts.
Ben Lyttle had 18 points and eight rebounds to lead Wesleyan (23-7), while Wolinski added 15 points.
Tufts and Trinity will play Thursday at 6:30 p.m. EDT, and the winner of that game will meet the winner of Mary Washington and the University of Chicago Saturday, March 21 in the NCAA semifinal round in Ft. Wayne.
--JUMBOS--
