With the victory, Tufts (15-8 overall) improved to 7-1 in the conference and will play Amherst College at Cousens on Saturday afternoon for the NESCAC regular-season title. The winner will gain the #1 seed into the conference tournament. Tip-off is 3:00.
Tufts and Trinity (16-5, 6-2 NESCAC) entered the game tied for second place in NESCAC, and an intense first half ended in a 44-44 tie. Trinity twice had five-point leads in the first half, while the largest Tufts margin was three points four times. Jumbo freshman Jake Weitzen (New York, NY) hit 6 of 7 shots in the first half and scored 14 points. NESCAC leading scorer Tyler Rhoten (Ridgewood, NJ) led Trinity also with 14 at the break.
A 9-0 run by the Jumbos early in the second half gave them control of the game. With it they turned a 51-51 tie into a 60-51 lead at 11:56 on a jumper by freshman Ryan O’Keefe (Everett, MA). Sophomore Brian Kumf (Milford, MA) scored the first four points of the spurt for the Jumbos. Trinity answered with baskets on its next two possessions to trail by four, 60-56, after a lay-up by sophomore Kino Clarke (Brooklyn, NY) at 11:12. That is as close as the Bantams would get.
Stovell pushed the lead into double figures, 70-59, with a three-pointer at 9:48. The Tufts lead was 14, 75-61, at 7:30 when O’Keefe drained another three. The Bantams were able to cut the margin down to nine, 78-69, on a Rhoten lay-up at 5:20, but after Stovell hit two free throws at the other end, Tufts led 80-69 and they would be up by double digits the rest of the way. The Jumbos were 14 of 16 from the free throw line in the final 5:30 and 24 for 28 overall (85.7 percent).
Trinity entered the game ranked second in NESCAC with its .469 field goal percentage, but the Jumbos held them to just 31.8 percent (27/85). The Bantams hit just 8 of 33 three-pointers (24.2%). Rhoten struggled in particular despite scoring a game-high 25 points, shooting 8 for 23. He added 10 rebounds and three steals to his game. Senior co-captain John Halas (White Plains, NY) scored 20, including four three-pointers, and sophomore Robert Taylor (Dorchester, MA) finished with 10 points, seven rebounds and three blocks. Trinity turned the ball over just eight times.
Tufts hit 14 of 27 shots in the second half (51.9%) to pull away. Weitzen hit 9 of 12 attempts overall and finished with 20 points and 10 rebounds. Kumf added 13 points, while sophomore guard David Shepherd (Grantham, NH) had 11 points (7 for 8 from the line) to go with seven assists. Tufts finished with a huge 59-40 advantage in rebounds, led by the second 20-rebound night of Stovell’s career.
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Newspaper Box Score Trinity Bantams vs Tufts Jumbos 2/11/05 7:00 pm at Medford, MA At Medford, MA TUFTS JUMBOS 93, TRINITY BANTAMS 81 TRINITY BANTAMS (16-5, 6-2 NESCAC) Tyler Rhoten 8-23 9-11 25; John Halas 7-18 2-3 20; Robert Taylor III 3-12 3-4 10; Patrick Hasiuk 3-12 1-2 8; Kino Clarke 2-5 0-0 5; Michael Hoar 2-4 0-0 5; Russ Martin 1-5 2-5 4; Jesse Farrell 1-6 0-1 2. Totals 27-85 19-28 81. TUFTS JUMBOS (15-8, 7-1 NESCAC) Reggie Stovell 4-11 12-12 21; Jake Weitzen 9-12 1-1 20; Brian Kumf 5-10 3-4 13; David Shepherd 2-9 7-8 11; Drew Kaklamanos 3-5 0-0 9; Ryan O'Keefe 3-8 0-1 8; Dan Martin 3-6 1-2 7; Brian Fitzgerald 2-3 0-0 4. Totals 31-64 24-28 93. Trinity Bantams............... 44 37 - 81 Tufts Jumbos.................. 44 49 - 93 3-point goals-Trinity Bantams 8-33 (John Halas 4-14; Patrick Hasiuk 1-6; Robert Taylor III 1-3; Michael Hoar 1-2; Kino Clarke 1-3; Jesse Farrell 0-2; Russ Martin 0-2; Tyler Rhoten 0-1), Tufts Jumbos 7-15 (Drew Kaklamanos 3-3; Ryan O'Keefe 2-5; Jake Weitzen 1-3; Reggie Stovell 1-2; David Shepherd 0-2). Fouled out--Trinity Bantams-Michael Hoar; John Halas, Tufts Jumbos-Dan Martin; Brian Fitzgerald. Rebounds-Trinity Bantams 40 (Tyler Rhoten 10), Tufts Jumbos 59 (Reggie Stovell 20). Assists-Trinity Bantams 15 (Michael Hoar 4), Tufts Jumbos 16 (David Shepherd 7). Total fouls-Trinity Bantams 22, Tufts Jumbos 24. A-550