Senior tri-captain Reggie Stovell (Washington, DC) once again led the Jumbos, who improved to 7-5 and 1-0 in the league. He had 17 points and 13 rebounds, while fellow senior tri-captain Drew Kaklamanos (Jupiter, FL) finished with 13 points, including 11 in the second half. Tufts put four players in double-figures overall.
Colby, which drops to 9-3 and 0-1, was led by 20 points from junior Andrew Jenkins (Gorham, ME), who connected on all five of his three-point attempts. Senior captain Pat McGowan (North Attleboro, MA) added 13 points and four assists to the Colby attack.
The game was a meeting between the top scoring team (Tufts) and the top defensive team (Colby) in the league. Tufts opened up a nine-point lead (34-25) in the first half when freshman Jake Weitzen (New York, NY) finished up a three-point play with 4:08 on the clock. Colby closed the half strong to get within two points, 41-39, at the break. Jenkins had 15 points, including four three-pointers, at the half for Colby. Weitzen had 12 for the Jumbos, who shot 51.4 percent (18/35) and out-rebounded the Mules 28-13 in the half.
The Mules opened the second half with a 10-2 run to take a 49-43 lead on Jenkins’ fifth three-pointer at the 16:51 mark. They pushed the margin to as high as 11 points, 59-48, when McGowan sank a jumper at 13:20. Colby led by eight, 65-57, at 8:27 when Tufts started to turn the game around. For nearly the next seven minutes, the Jumbos used a 15-2 run to take a 72-67 lead heading into the final minute. Stovell had eight points during the stretch.
Two free throws by Colby’s Mike Rutherford (Wyckoff, NJ) closed the gap to 72-69 with 39 seconds remaining, but that was as close as the Mules would get. Tufts hit enough free throws and the Mules missed three shots down the stretch, giving the Jumbos their seventh victory after winning just eight games a year ago.
The Jumbos finished with a huge 51-32 advantage in rebounds, with Weitzen, junior Dan Martin (Sandwich, MA) and sophomore Brian Kumf (Milford, MA) each grabbing eight. Tufts won despite turning the ball over 25 times, shooting 28 for 59 overall (47.5%) and 7 for 15 (46.7%) on the three-ball. Weitzen finished with 12 and 8, while sophomore guard David Shepherd (Grantham, NH) had 10 points and eight assists.
After shooting 6 for 11 from three-point land in the first half, Colby was just 3 for 11 in the second half. They shot 35.7% from the floor overall (25/70). Sophomore center Drew Cohen (Briarcliff Manor, NY) had 11 points, seven rebounds and three blocks for the Mules.
#
Newspaper Box Score Colby Mules vs Tufts Jumbos 1/14/05 7:00 pm at Cousens Gym (Medford, MA) At Cousens Gym (Medford, MA) TUFTS JUMBOS 76, COLBY MULES 69 COLBY MULES (9-3, 0-1 NESCAC) Andrew Jenkins 7-14 1-2 20; Pat McGowan 5-16 2-2 13; Drew Cohen 5-11 1-1 11; Nick Farrell 4-9 0-0 10; Mike Rutherford 2-6 3-4 7; Michael Westbrooks 1-7 1-2 4; Jared Cushman 1-4 0-0 2; Nate Dick 0-1 2-2 2; Jamie Snyder-Fair 0-1 0-0 0; Tom Nale 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 25-70 10-13 69. TUFTS JUMBOS (7-5, 1-0 NESCAC) Reggie Stovell 6-12 4-5 17; Drew Kaklamanos 4-7 2-2 13; Jake Weitzen 5-8 1-2 12; David Shepherd 4-6 2-4 10; Ryan O'Keefe 3-7 1-2 9; Dan Martin 4-10 1-2 9; Brian Kumf 2-7 2-4 6; Jesse Belodoff 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 28-59 13-21 76. Colby Mules................... 39 30 - 69 Tufts Jumbos.................. 41 35 - 76 3-point goals-Colby Mules 9-22 (Andrew Jenkins 5-5; Nick Farrell 2-5; Michael Westbrooks 1-3; Pat McGowan 1-8; Jared Cushman 0-1), Tufts Jumbos 7-15 (Drew Kaklamanos 3-5; Ryan O'Keefe 2-4; Jake Weitzen 1-2; Reggie Stovell 1-3; Jesse Belodoff 0-1). Fouled out--Colby Mules-Andrew Jenkins; Mike Rutherford, Tufts Jumbos-Brian Kumf. Rebounds-Colby Mules 32 (Drew Cohen 7; Mike Rutherford 7), Tufts Jumbos 51 (Reggie Stovell 13). Assists-Colby Mules 14 (Pat McGowan 4; Michael Westbrooks 4), Tufts Jumbos 12 (David Shepherd 8). Total fouls-Colby Mules 21, Tufts Jumbos 15. A-200