NEW YORK (March 1, 2024) -- The Tufts University men's basketball team held Stockton University without a field goal over the final 6:27 of the game, coming from down five points late to earn a 59-55 win in the 2024 NCAA Division III Men's Basketball Tournament First Round at New York University's John Paulson Center. 

With the victory, the Jumbos (20-7) advance to the NCAA Second Round to take on either host NYU or Husson University Saturday evening at 6:45 p.m. in the Big Apple. The win was also the Jumbos 20th of the season, reaching that mark for the third straight full season campaign. 

The start was everything the Jumbos could have wanted on Friday evening, as Tufts scored nine of the game's first 11 points over the first five minutes capped by a bucket by Joshua Bernstein. The lead would grow to as high as 10 points twice for the Jumbos, including at 17-7 after a triple from first-year guard Jon Medley with 12:43 to go in the opening stanza. 

Stockton (17-11) crept back into the game slowly, eventually tying the game at 27 with 4:34 to play in the opening half after a jumper from Jalen Collins. The Jumbos would remain tied or in the lead until about a minute left in the frame, but two turnovers turned into five points for the Ospreys and a 36-34 lead at the break. James Morakis led the way in the first half with seven points for the Jumbos. 

The momentum would stay with Stockton out of the locker rooms, as Tufts' shooting was slow to get going in the second half. The Ospreys would grow their lead up to as much as as seven with 10:55 to play in regulation, but senior Jay Dieterle answered seconds later with a huge three-pointer to make it 46-42. 

The Stockton lead continued to hover around two possessions until a Khai Champion jumper with 6:46 to go trimmed the Osprey's lead down to 51-48. Trayvon Gaither came right back with a jumper, but that would be the final field goal of the game for Stockton as Champion hit another field goal with 5:53 to go to make it 53-50. 

Minutes later, Champion tied the game for the Jumbos with a deep three-pointer with 4:02 to go but DJ Campbell converted on a free throw to put Stockton back on top 54-43 with 2:09 to play. On the next possession, Bernstein was fouled and hit both ends of a 1-and-1 to put the Jumbos ahead but Stockton answered to tie the game at 55 with 104 seconds to play. 

Our of a timeout, Bernstein finished a great play on a nice look by Dieterle and Tufts forced a stop on defense to get the ball back after a block by Scott Gyimesi. Bernstein was fouled again after the stop, and he calmly knocked down both shots to give Tufts a four-point lead at 59-55. On the next possession, Tufts once again locked up defensively and a defensive rebound by Champion helped clinch the win for Tufts.

The Jumbos defense was on display on Friday night, as Tufts held their opponent to just 31 percent shooting including 5-of-24 (20.9 percent) in the second half. Senior Casey McLaren and Medley were stellar defensively on Campbell, as he was 1-of-11 for the night scoring just eight points which was 12 points below his season average. Stockton was also 0-for-8 in the second half from behind the arc. 

Tufts was paced offensively by Bernstein, who finished 5-of-6 from the floor for 14 points while adding five boards and two blocks. Champion came off the bench to tally 12 points, and Morakis finished with nine points and four assists. Dieterle also added an all-around strong game with eight points, nine caroms and five assists. 

The Jumbos were plagued by 16 turnovers, but they did shoot the ball well going 23-of-51 (45.1 percent) from the field. Gyimesi added seven points and nine rebounds as well for the Jumbos, and McLaren hit a pair of triples in the first half and became the program's winningest player as the senior has been part of 76 wins over the last four seasons.