The third seeded Jumbos (20-5) advance to the conference semi-finals next Saturday at Amherst where they will play second seed Trinity College, an 84-81 winner over Colby in the first round. Tufts defeated the Bantams 84-80 in overtime when the teams met during the regular-season.
Against Williams, Tufts topped 100 points for just the second time this season and had three players finish with 20 points or more. Sophomore Jake Weitzen (New York, NY) scored 21 points in 24 minutes off the bench. Juniors David Shepherd (Grantham, NH) and Brian Kumf (Milford, MA) both scored a season-high 20 points for the Jumbos.
However, the victory did not come easily against the sixth-seeded Ephs. Tufts only trailed in the first three minutes of the game, and they built 12-point leads twice in the first half. But the score at halftime was just 47-42 Jumbos, and that was after Shepherd darted through the Eph defense for a lay-up at the buzzer. Senior tri-captain Dan Martin (Sandwich, MA) scored 11 points and Weitzen scored 10 in the first half for Tufts. Sophomore Chris Rose (Middletown, NY) and junior Brian Nelson (Holden, MA) each had nine points for Williams at the break.
A three-point play by Rose to start the second half closed the margin to two points, 47-45. That was as close as Williams would get, but the visitors were within single-digits for the majority of the second half. The Tufts lead was just five points, 74-69, at 8:04 when the Jumbos opened their advantage with a 10-0 run spurred by Kumf and Shepherd. A Kumf dunk and three-point play started it, then Shepherd’s lay-up and three-point play finished it.
Even with that spurt, Tufts could not completely put Williams away. Firing up threes at a rapid rate (they took 37 in the game), the Ephs had it down to seven points, 88-81, on a three by Rose at 1:34. Two free throws by senior tri-captain Casey Gibbons (Weston, MA) made it 89-83 with 53 seconds on the clock, and they still had faint hope with 26 seconds left after a three-pointer by sophomore guard Chris Shalvoy (Rochester, NY) put the score at 95-89. Shepherd was money at the line down the stretch though, making 8 of 8 free throws in the final minute to seal the victory.
Tufts shot 50.8 percent (31/61) and put five players in double figures overall. Martin finished with 16 points and seven rebounds, while Shepherd and Kumf both added seven rebounds to their games. Shepherd (10 of 11 at the line) also had five assists. Weitzen finished 7 of 9 from the floor.
Williams also had five players score in double digits. The Ephs, who made 16 three-pointers, got 20 points apiece from Nelson (six threes) and Rose (five). That pair had eight and 10 rebounds, respectively. Shalvoy added a game-high eight assists to his 11 points. The Ephs’ season ended with a 17-8 record. Seniors Andrew Newton (Whitinsville, MA) and Gibbons closed their careers with 12 and 10 points, respectively.
TUFTS JUMBOS 101, WILLIAMS EPHS 89 NESCAC Tournament Quarterfinals WILLIAMS EPHS (17-8) Chris Rose 6-16 3-3 20; Brian Nelson 7-14 0-0 20; Andrew Newton 5-11 2-5 12; Chris Shalvoy 3-8 2-2 11; Casey Gibbons 3-6 3-4 10; Kevin Snyder 2-5 4-5 9; Will Kuntz 1-2 2-2 4; Matt Weisbrot 1-3 1-2 3. Totals 28-65 17-23 89. TUFTS JUMBOS (20-5) Jake Weitzen 7-9 5-6 21; David Shepherd 5-11 10-11 20; Brian Kumf 5-10 9-12 20; Dan Martin 5-9 6-9 16; Ryan O'Keefe 4-9 0-2 10; Jeremy Black 3-8 2-2 9; Brian Fitzgerald 2-4 1-2 5; Aaron Gallant 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 31-61 33-44 101. Williams Ephs................. 42 47 - 89 Tufts Jumbos.................. 47 54 - 101 3-point goals-Williams Ephs 16-37 (Brian Nelson 6-12; Chris Rose 5-13; Chris Shalvoy 3-6; Kevin Snyder 1-2; Casey Gibbons 1-4), Tufts Jumbos 6-14 (Ryan O'Keefe 2-4; Jake Weitzen 2-2; Brian Kumf 1-2; Jeremy Black 1-5; Brian Fitzgerald 0-1). Fouled out--Williams Ephs-None, Tufts Jumbos-None. Rebounds-Williams Ephs 37 (Chris Rose 10), Tufts Jumbos 39 (David Shepherd 7; Brian Kumf 7; Dan Martin 7). Assists-Williams Ephs 20 (Chris Shalvoy 8), Tufts Jumbos 13 (David Shepherd 5). Total fouls-Williams Ephs 28, Tufts Jumbos 19. A-1500.