MEDFORD, MA (March 6, 2026) -- The No. 12 Tufts University men's basketball team led multiple times by double digits Friday evening in the 2026 NCAA Division III Men's Basketball Tournament First Round, but had to survive a late rally by Penn State Harrisburg to pick up a 65-60 win in action from Cousens Gymnasium.
The victory sends the Jumbos (21-5) into the NCAA Tournament Second Round Saturday evening, March 7 at 6:00 p.m., battling Catholic University after the Cardinals escaped themselves with a 71-69 win over WestConn in the opening game of the day.
Despite shooting 45.8 percent at the free throw line for the game, as well as 29.4 percent in the first half overall, Tufts was dominant on the glass which included 14 offensive caroms.
The first half was slow to get going as the two teams combined for just 21 points over the first nine minutes of the game, but the Jumbos pushed ahead by seven at 15-8 with 10:34 on the clock on a lay-up by first-year
Ricardo Nieves.
Every time Tufts looked like it was going to start to extend its lead, Penn State Harrisburg (18-11) would claw right back. The Jumbos took an eight-point edge on a fall-away three-pointer by
Jon Medley at the end of the shot clock to make it 24-16, but five quick points from the Lions made it 24-21 with a minute to go in the half.
Tufts took advantage of two offensive rebounds towards the end of the half, and Nieves buried a triple to make it 27-21 going into halftime.
After the break, Tufts pushed its lead up to double-digits for the first time in the contest as its scored the period's first nine points capped by a three-pointer by
Sidney Wooten to give the Jumbos a 36-22 lead with 16:01 to go.
PSU Harrisburg showed some fight, going on an 8-0 run thanks to threes from Jordan Spencer and Kevin Lucas, Jr. to make it 36-30 Jumbos. The Lions pulled even closer at 40-36, but sophomore
Robbie Nyamwaya sparked a 7-0 run with a thunderous one-handed jam to push the hosts back up by 11 at 47-36 with 10 minutes to go.
Tufts would continued to hold the double-digit edge, taking a 13-point lead with five minutes remaining on a bucket by Medley. The Jumbos would go cold from that point though, scoring just two points over the next four minutes while Penn State Harrisburg stormed back to make 57-53 with 1:51 to go in regulation on a traditional three-point play.
Nieves answered right back with a driving lay-up, but Spencer pulled the Lions to within one possession with a three-pointer with just over a minute to play. Senior
Joshua Bernstein would get fouled on the next possession, making both free throws, while the Jumbos were able to do enough at the line before a
Dylan Reilly lay-up sealed the win late to escape the upset.
Tufts first-year standout had a strong game off the bench, as Nieves finished with 14 points, six rebounds and a steal on 6-of-11 shooting. He added two three-pointers as well.
Bernstein was solid in 31 minutes of action, tallying a double-double of 12 points and 11 rebounds, going 6-of-7 at the free throw stripe. Medley recorded nine points, six boards and five assists in 33 minutes, and junior
Zion Watt was 3-of-7 from three-point range for nine points while blocking four shots as well.
Wooten started and had seven points, three steals and three assists, with Nyamwaya coming off the bench to score six points with six rebounds.
The Jumbos rebounded from a poor shooting first-half to gog 13-of-22 in the second half (59.1 percent), making 41.1 percent (23-56) from the field overall. Tufts was only 11-of-24 (45.8 percent) at the line for the game, but tallied a 30-16 edge in points in the point.
Sophomore Chris Henderson had a strong outing for the Lions, scoring 20 points to go with three rebounds, and Spencer tallied 16 points and five rebounds. PSU Harrisburg shot just 37.3 percent (19-51) overall, and was 7-of-24 (29.2 percent) from behind the three-point line.
The win marked the ninth straight NCAA First Round win for the Jumbos, dating back to the 1996-97 season. The Jumbos are looking for their sixth NCAA Sweet 16 appearance Saturday.
--JUMBOS--
