Men's Basketball Falls to #24 Tufts, 121-67

By Jim Fenton

MEDFORD, Mass. -- The nationally ranked Tufts University men's basketball team handed Bridgewater State University its sixth loss in seven games.

The Jumbos led from start to finish and cruised past the Bears, 121-67, at Cousens Gymnasium Wednesday night.

BSU has allowed more than 100 points in four of its six losses this season. The Bears opened the schedule by surrendering a program-record 129 points to the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, breaking a mark that had stood since 1971.

Tufts (6-2) is on a six-game winning streak after opening the season with two losses. The Jumbos are No. 24 in this week's D3hoops.com national poll.

The Bears began the season with four losses in a row, and after defeating the Wentworth Institute of Technology, have dropped two straight games.

Tufts had six players in double figures, led by junior Zion Watt (Los Angeles, Calif.) with 18 points. He made 6 of 9 shots from 3-point range.Senior James Morakis (Dallas, Texas) added 15 points to go with four assists and three rebounds.

Senior Joshua Bernstein (Miami, Fla.) recorded a double-double with 13 points and 16 rebounds and blocked four shots.

Sophomore Isaac Friedman (Larchmont, N.Y.) made four 3-pointers and scored 14 points while senior Scott Gyimesi (Fair Haven, N.J.) contributed 12 points and 10 rebounds while sophomore Evan Reeves (Weatogue, Conn.) had 10 points.

BSU freshman Jake Olmstead (Franklin, Mass.) scored a career-best 20 points on 6-for-14 shooting after getting 14 points combined in the first four games of his collegiate career. Olmstead, who hit three 3-pointers, also had four rebounds and four assists.

Bears senior Louis Jennings (Walpole, Mass.) was also in double figures with 12 points to go with three rebounds, two assists and two steals.

Junior Zach Taylor (Quincy, Mass.) scored nine points to go with five rebounds and three assists.

Tufts shot 54 percent from the field and was 16-for-30 on 3-pointers while the Bears made only 35 percent of their shots and hit only 7 of 23 from long range.

The Jumbos outrebounded BSU, 61-26, including 19-6 offensive rebounds.

Tufts led by as many as 55 points (121-66) and the lead was not under double figures in the final 31 minutes.

Tufts took its first lead at 3-0 just 12 seconds in on a 3-pointer by Watt. The Bears were down, 8-6, with 16:21 left in the half on a 3-pointer by junior Sam Sweeney (Burlington, Vt.).

But Tufts scored eight straight points, including six consecutive points by Berstein, for a 16-6 advantage.

The last time the deficit was below double digits in the game was 19-10 with 11:30 to play in the half.

Leading, 22-12, Tufts went on a 12-0 run in 2:44 to open a 34-12 lead. The Bears missed four shots while Tufts went 4-for-6 with two 3-pointers.

The scoreless stretch ended with a layup by senior Dante Kikuba (Framingham, Mass.) with 7:53 left before the break.

The Jumbos led by as many as 22 points in the opening half before taking a 54-35 lead into the locker room.

The lead went to 60-36 in the first 2:29 of the second half, and Tufts followed that with a 15-0 burst.

The Jumbos made all four of their shots, including a pair of 3-pointers, in the run with Watt making two from long distance. The Bears missed all six of their shots in that stretch and trailed, 78-41.

Tufts cracked the 100-point mark on a 3-pointer by Friedmam with 6:37 to go, making it 101-51.

BSU has also allowed at least 100 points to Nichols College and Rhode Island College in addition to Tufts and UMass Dartmouth.

The Bears and Jumbos met last season for the first time since 2007 with Tufts winning at BSU.

The Bears will play again on Saturday at noon when they travel to New Hampshire to face Rivier College for the first time.

Tufts has a 3:30 p.m. game Saturday at home against Lasell.