The Jumbos jumped out to a quick 8-0 lead and never looked back. With Stovell dominating inside, Tufts had no problems executing offensively. They sunk 21 of 35 field goal attempts in the first half (60 percent) en route to posting 51 points.
Stovell was able to draw two early fouls on senior tri-captain Tucker Kain, forcing Williams Head Coach Dave Paulsen to keep his leading scorer on the bench for most of the first half. Without Kain, the Ephs struggled on the offensive end. Turnovers prevented an effective fast break attack and the Ephs were unable to knock down much out of their set offense. They shot just 34.2 percent from the floor in the first half and trailed by as many as 21.
The Jumbos were able to take a comfortable 51-32 at the half.
The Ephs threatened to make a game of it after the break. Looking more inspired on the defensive end, Williams, led by the aggressive play of senior tri-captain Michael Graham, opened the half with an 18-8 run. A three-point play by junior Andrew Newton cut the lead to nine with 15:17 remaining but the Ephs would get no closer. The Jumbos responded with a 13-4 run of their own, taking back momentum and control of the game for good.
The Jumbos shot 50 percent from the floor for the game in scoring 95 points, the most the Ephs have surrendered all year. Stovell was helped on the offensive end by David Shepherd (19 points, 6 rebounds) and Brian Kumf (18 points, 5 rebounds).
Graham led the Ephs with 20 points, while Newton added 17 points and 7 boards and senior tri-captain Jaris Cole chipped in with 13 points and 7 boards. Sophomore Dana Leary had another solid game off the bench, scoring 8 points and puling down 5 rebounds.
The Ephs have dropped four of their last six contests. Having suffered three home losses, the ’04-‘05 Ephs are at risk of becoming the first men’s team in school history to lose four games at Chandler over the course of a season.
“We’ve got two choices,” said Paulsen. “We can wallow and feel bad for ourselves or we can bounce back. We’ve got a chance to see what we’re made of now and bounce back, but we can’t hang our heads or point fingers or we’ll really be in trouble. It’s absolutely imperative we win on Saturday. We’ve got to play better, play up to our potential, which we just didn’t do tonight.”
The Ephs will look to avoid falling to 1-3 in the NESCAC when they host what should be a tough Bates team at home at 3 pm on Saturday.