DARTMOUTH, Mass. – Behind double-figure points from five different players, Tufts University posted a 79-64 victory over UMass Dartmouth in non-conference action on Saturday afternoon at the Tripp Center. The 23rd-ranked Jumbos move to 8-0 on the season, while the Corsairs slip to 1-5 overall.
The visiting Jumbos got off to a hot start in the contest, opening up a 10-2 advantage behind four points from sophomore center Joshua Bernstein. UMass Dartmouth battled back as a
John Marcille jumper cut the deficit to six (10-4), but back-to-back Tufts points pushed the lead to 10 with 15:48 on the clock.
Corsairs' senior guard and captain
Isaac Percy drained a layup, but a three-pointer from senior guard Jay Dieterle, coupled with consecutive buckets saw the Jumbos open up a 21-8 margin at the 13:46 mark. With the visitors holding a 27-8 lead, the Corsairs mounted a comeback as Marcille dropped in a shot, while sophomore guard
Josh Lopes nailed a three-pointer to make it a 29-13 game with 9:56 remaining.
A three-pointer from senior captain
Jackson Zancan helped close the gap to 33-16, but six-straight points, including four from sophomore guard James Morakis, saw the Jumbos own a 39-16 margin at the 5:51 mark of the opening half. A Percy trey, along with a pair of free throw makes, helped the Corsairs chip away, with a
Nic Boyd three-pointer at 4:05 helping to make it a 41-24 contest.
In the final two minutes of the half, Boyd dropped in another three, but a Liam Kennelly jumper sent the teams into halftime with the visiting Jumbos up 47-29.
Out of the intermission, the Corsairs used back-to-back three-point shots from Marcille and Zancan to make it a 49-36 Tufts lead at the 17:49 mark. UMass Dartmouth trailed by a 55-36 margin until the 13:21 mark as Marcille drained a three, while Zancan and Lopes each added buckets to make it a 57-43 game at 12:25.
Zancan added another layup with under 11 to go, but a layup from Morakis, coupled with a shot from junior guard Khai Champion pushed the visitors to a 20-point advantage with 9:50 left in the contest. The Corsairs continued to chip away as a Zancan shot from deep cut the home team's deficit to 67-50 with 8:01 on the clock.
Despite the momentum, the Corsairs could not keep the Jumbos off the board as Bernstein drove in back-to-back buckets to widen the gap to 71-50. Another Zancan three-pointer, followed by a Percy layup closed the score to 71-55, but Tufts answered at the other end, matching the Corsairs bucket-for-bucket to maintain the 15-point (75-60) lead with just over four minutes to play.
The Jumbos saw rookie guard Dylan Reilly score the final four points of the game for Tufts as Lopes added a pair of free throws down the stretch for the final margin in the game.
Tufts was led by Morakis and sophomore forward Scott Gyimesi, who each recorded 14 points in the contest. Gyimesi completed the double-double with 10 rebounds, adding four assists, a block and a steal, while Morakis had two assists and three boards. Dieterle posted 13 points with three assists and a steal, while Bernstein and Champion each added 12 points.
The Corsairs were led by a double-double effort from Zancan, who boasted a game-high 19 points and 11 rebounds (6 offensive). He went 4-for-5 from three-point range, adding two blocks. Percy added 11 points with two boards and two steals, while Marcille had 10 points, 2 caroms, an assist, and a steal.
UMass Dartmouth returns to the court on Wednesday when it travels to Eastern Connecticut State to open Little East Conference play against the Warriors. Tip-off is set for 7pm.
