The Jumbos head into the semester break with a 7-2 record against an excellent non-conference schedule thus far. The team’s only two losses were to Wittenberg and Plymouth State, who were a combined 13-0 entering Saturday’s play. Clark dropped to 4-3 overall.
The visiting Cougars shot just 33.8 percent (24/71) from the floor, including 11 for 34 (32.4 percent) in the first half when the Jumbos surged to a 49-36 lead. The Cougars started strong, taking a 10-3 advantage after two free throws by Cory Szklarz (Worcester, MA) at 15:10. The Jumbos would erase the deficit quickly by scoring the next 14 points to lead 17-10 on a jumper by Weitzen at 11:39. He had seven points during the stretch that turned the game in Tufts’ favor.
The Jumbos would lead for the rest of the game, but the margin was only five points (38-33) following a Clark three-pointer by Asher Cowan (Peterborough, NH) with 2:56 left in the half. Tufts closed the half with an 11-3 run that had them leading by 13 at the break. Weitzen had 15 at intermission for Tufts while sophomore Pat Landers (Worcester, MA) led Clark with nine points.
Tufts pulled away in the second half. Clark was within 14, 61-47, on a jumper by Dominique Beck (Brockton, MA) at 16:34. However, the Jumbos scored the next nine points to push their lead to 23, 70-47, on a three-pointer by sophomore Ryan O’Keefe (Everett, MA) at 14:29. The margin stayed over 20 points for the remainder of the game, topping out at 34, 93-59, after a three-point play by senior tri-captain Dan Martin (Sandwich, MA) at 7:21. The 28-point margin of victory is the highest of the season for the Jumbos. Tufts has topped 90 points in five of their nine games.
Martin added 14 points to the Tufts attack, while junior David Shepherd (Grantham, NH) was also in double-digits with 10 points. Sophomore Jeremy Black (Jamesville, NY) had seven points, four assists and five steals. Junior Brian Kumf (Milford, MA) scored eight points with seven rebounds in 14 minutes. The Jumbos were 10 for 20 from three-point land, with eight different players netting trifectas. Tufts was also 21 for 26 (80.8%) from the free throw line in an all-around good shooting day.
Clark had four players score in double figures led by 12 points apiece from Szklarz and Beck, who added eight rebounds to his game. Landers with 11 points and sophomore Pat Ochoa (Springfield, MA) with 10 points were also leaders for the Cougars. Senior co-captain Tim Dutille (Sunapee, NH) finished with seven points and a game-high nine rebounds. Clark turned the ball over 24 times and were just 7 for 23 (30.4%) from beyond the three-point arch.
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TUFTS JUMBOS 99, CLARK COUGARS 76 CLARK COUGARS (4-3) Cory Szklarz 3-11 5-5 12; Dominique Beck 5-15 2-5 12; Pat Landers 3-4 5-5 11; Pat Ochoa 4-7 0-0 10; Asher Cowan 3-7 0-0 9; Tim Dutille 2-8 3-4 7; Godfrey Duncan 3-8 0-0 7; Alfred Thomas 0-1 3-4 3; Byron Roberts 1-6 1-1 3; Barron Perry 0-1 0-2 0; Nate Savary 0-1 0-0 0; DJ Brinn 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 24-71 21-29 76. TUFTS JUMBOS (7-2) Jake Weitzen 9-15 3-5 22; Dan Martin 5-8 4-4 14; David Shepherd 3-6 2-3 10; Ryan O'Keefe 3-7 2-2 9; Jason Grauer 2-4 3-3 8; Brian Kumf 4-5 0-0 8; Jeremy Black 1-4 4-4 7; Dacson Sears 2-3 2-3 6; Aaron Gallant 2-3 1-2 6; Brian Fitzgerald 2-4 0-0 6; Pat Sullivan 1-4 0-0 3; Az Adhanom 0-2 0-0 0; Ross Trethewey 0-5 0-0 0. Totals 34-70 21-26 99. Clark Cougars................. 36 40 - 76 Tufts Jumbos.................. 49 50 - 99 3-point goals-Clark Cougars 7-23 (Asher Cowan 3-7; Pat Ochoa 2-3; Godfrey Duncan 1-3; Cory Szklarz 1-3; Alfred Thomas 0-1; Byron Roberts 0-1; DJ Brinn 0-2; Dominique Beck 0-3), Tufts Jumbos 10-20 (David Shepherd 2-2; Brian Fitzgerald 2-3; Pat Sullivan 1-1; Aaron Gallant 1-2; Jake Weitzen 1-2; Ryan O'Keefe 1-3; Jason Grauer 1-1; Jeremy Black 1-4; Ross Trethewey 0-1; Dacson Sears 0-1). Rebounds-Clark Cougars 47 (Tim Dutille 9), Tufts Jumbos 45 (Brian Kumf 7). Assists-Clark Cougars 11 (Cory Szklarz 3), Tufts Jumbos 18 (Jake Weitzen 7). Total fouls-Clark Cougars 18, Tufts Jumbos 29. A-400