Tufts played one of its best games of the 2022-23 season on Friday night, playing efficient, balanced offense while controlling the tempo on both sides of the floor in a 71-50 victory over No. 10 Williams in New England Small College Athletic Conference action from Chandler Gymnasium.
Tufts (14-4, 3-2 NESCAC) and Williams were tied after 20 minutes of action at 31, but the depth of the Jumbos showed as they outscored their hosts 40-19 in the second half. The Ephs (16-3, 3-3) made just five field goals in the second half, shooting 21.7 percent (5-23) from the floor while Tufts made 58 percent from the floor in pulling away. The Jumbos held a decided 21-2 edge in points off turnovers Friday, committing only six giveaways all game. It was the fewest amount of turnovers in a game this season for Tufts, and the fewest in a game since just five March 4, 2017 in an NCAA Tournament win over St. John Fisher.
The depth was on display for the Jumbos, as they outscored the Ephs 50-13 in bench points including a 30-5 edge in the decisive second half. The game was tight throughout the first-half, with the lead changing hands three times through the middle part of the stanza. Williams took its biggest lead of the contest at 25-19 with 7:01 to go in the first half on a Spencer Spivy three-pointer, but Tufts finished the frame on a 5-0 run to send the game to halftime tied at 31 after a pair of free throws from first-year big man Joshua Bernstein.
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| Theo Henry Tufts athletics file photo |
After the halftime break, Tufts regained its first lead since 13-10 when Theo Henry scored off a Tyler Aronson steal to make the score 35-33. That bucket would start a 14-2 run over an span of 4:51 to make the score 47-35 in favor of the Jumbos. The Tufts' lead would stay in double digits for the remainder of the game after that run, as the advantage grew up to its final margin of 21 with 47 seconds to play on an exclamation mark triple from Quinn Cain.
The Jumbos got a team-high 16 points from Khai Champion off the bench, as the sophomore was 6-of-11 on field goals including going 3-of-5 from behind the arc in the victory. Senior Theo Henry also was a useful reserve for the Jumbos, tallying 15 points and five assists while also connecting on three three-pointers Friday. Bernstein continued to make an impact in the post, making all three of his field goals while adding three rebounds and five rejections.
Aronson also poured in eight points in the win, adding three steals, and Trumann Gettings finished with seven points before fouling out. Tufts shot 28-of-59 (47.5 percent) from the floor on the night, making eight of its 21 shots from deep (38.1 percent). The Jumbos were able to score 71 points on Friday against the NESCAC's top defensive unit, which was averaging under 56 points per game allowed before the game.
The 21-point win over Williams was also Tufts largest win in the series since a 93-68 win back in 2017, and the biggest in Williamstown since a 86-64 win back in 1994.
Spivy finished with a team-high 14 points and eight rebounds in the loss for Williams, and Nate Karren added 13 points as well.