Down 6-4 early, the Lyons scored seven of the next nine points for their largest lead of the opening half, 11-8. Junior Brian Zukowski (Dracut, MA/Dracut) contributed five of those points, with senior Sean Kelly (Providence, RI/Wheeler School) notching a pair of assists. From there, the Jumbos went on a 10-2 run thanks to points by three different players and forged an 18-13 edge.
Tufts slowly built upon its slim advantage, as sophomore Jake Weitzen (New York, NY/Bronx HS of Science) converted a three-point play and later knocked down a three-pointer at 2:08 to give the visitors a 38-28 lead. After a pair of Zukowski free throws with 1:39 to go, Weitzen reestablished Tufts' 10-point edge with a fadeaway jumper with two seconds remaining in the half. Tufts shot 48.6 percent in the first period, led by Weitzen's 14 points on 5-of-7 shooting. The Lyons went 11-of-32 from the field, good for 34.4 percent, as Zukowski was their high scorer with 12 points.
During the second half, Tufts continued to maintain its 10-point lead before using an 18-5 run to capture its biggest cushion, 70-47 with 10:09 remaining. The Jumbos' run, which lasted for 4:38, started with eight points from three different players before Weitzen took over, canning a pair of three-pointers and running off 10 straight Tufts points himself in a stretch of 1:51.
Wheaton didn't go away, slowly chipping its deficit down to 10 points via a 17-4 run over 6:24. The hosts held the Jumbos to 2-of-12 shooting during that stretch, as Tufts missed eight straight shots at one juncture. A trio of young players made their marks while the Lyons attempted to come back, as sophomore Eric Johnston (South Windsor, CT/East Catholic) collected six points and three rebounds, freshman Patrick Youreneff (Belle Mead, NJ/Montgomery) notched five points, and first-year Ryan McDonough (Holliston, MA/Tilton School) kicked in four points and two blocks. However, the Jumbos negated Wheaton's rally by hitting 12-of-13 free throw attempts during the final 3:14.
Zukowski paced the Lyons with 17 points, while Johnston turned in a stellar effort with 13 points, five rebounds and three steals during 27 minutes off the bench. Kelly finished with eight points as well as team highs of eight rebounds and seven assists. The Lyons committed a season-high 22 turnovers.
Weitzen notched a double-double for Tufts, netting 26 points on 9-of-13 shooting while snagging 10 boards during 26 minutes as a reserve. Senior Dan Martin (Sandwich, MA/Phillips Andover Academy) added 22 points, sophomore Ryan O'Keefe (Everett, MA/Everett) had 14, and classmate Jeremy Black (Jamesville, NY/Jamesville-DeWitt) notched seven points, seven assists and six steals. As a team, the Jumbos canned 19-of-20 shots from the charity stripe.
The Lyons begin a three-game road trip Thursday at Fitchburg State College at 5:30 p.m. before returning to New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) play Saturday at Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) at 2:00 p.m.
Newspaper Box Score Tufts University vs Wheaton College 1/17/06 7:00 p.m. at Emerson Gymnasium, Norton, Mass. At Emerson Gymnasium, Norton, Mass. TUFTS UNIVERSITY 88, WHEATON COLLEGE 70 TUFTS UNIVERSITY (11-3) Jake Weitzen 9-13 5-5 26; Dan Martin 8-15 6-6 22; Ryan O'Keefe 7-13 0-1 14; David Shepherd 4-8 0-0 9; Jeremy Black 1-6 4-4 7; Brian Fitzgerald 1-4 2-2 4; Ross Trethewey 0-0 2-2 2; Jason Grauer 1-3 0-0 2; Brian Kumf 1-3 0-0 2; Pat Sullivan 0-2 0-0 0; Dacson Sears 0-1 0-0 0; Aaron Gallant 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 32-69 19-20 88. WHEATON COLLEGE (10-5) Brian Zukowski 5-11 6-7 17; Eric Johnston 6-12 0-2 13; Ryan McDonough 3-6 2-2 8; Sean Kelly 4-12 0-0 8; James Greenslit 2-2 2-4 7; Patrick Youreneff 2-3 0-0 5; Jake Otto 2-6 1-2 5; Brent DiGiovanna 2-4 0-0 4; Kristopher Pedra 0-3 2-2 2; David Harding 0-2 1-2 1; Mark Sullivan 0-1 0-0 0; Patrick McDonough 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 26-64 14-21 70. Tufts University.............. 40 48 - 88 Wheaton College............... 30 40 - 70 3-point goals-Tufts University 5-20 (Jake Weitzen 3-5; Jeremy Black 1-5; David Shepherd 1-3; Brian Fitzgerald 0-1; Jason Grauer 0-1; Aaron Gallant 0-1; Ryan O'Keefe 0-4), Wheaton College 4-14 (James Greenslit 1-1; Eric Johnston 1-3; Brian Zukowski 1-4; Patrick Youreneff 1-1; Kristopher Pedra 0-1; Mark Sullivan 0-1; Patrick McDonough 0-1; Sean Kelly 0-2). Fouled out--Tufts University-None, Wheaton College-Eric Johnston. Rebounds-Tufts University 41 (Jake Weitzen 10), Wheaton College 34 (Sean Kelly 8). Assists-Tufts University 17 (Jeremy Black 7), Wheaton College 13 (Sean Kelly 7). Total fouls-Tufts University 23, Wheaton College 18. A-195