1/15/08

Men's basketball comes up short

FARMINGTON -- Tufts University outscored the University of Maine at Farmington 45-33 in the second half to overcome a halftime deficit and down the Beavers 78-72 in men's basketball action at Dearborn Gymnasium on Tuesday.

The Beavers slipped to 6-7 and are scheduled to visit North Atlantic Conference foes Johnson State on Friday and Castleton on Saturday. The Jumbos ran their record to 9-4 with Amherst on the road on Friday.

Jon Pierce (Belmont, MA) headlined Tufts' effort with 22 points, including 16 in the second half and a 10-for-14 performance to keep the Beavers at bay down the stretch. Jake Weitzen (New York, NY) chipped in 15 points in the win with Aaron Gallant (Bangor, ME) adding 14 points and Jeremy Black (Jamesville, NY) 12 points and eight assists.

Issac Hutchinson (Oakland, ME) led Farmington with 18 points, including 14 in the opening stanza as the Beavers entered intermission with a 39-33 advantage. Sean Fry (Jay, ME) collected a double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds with Matt St. John (Wayne, ME) supplying 10 points and Andrew Dean (Gorham, ME) nine points and six assists.

With Farmington leading 12-9, the Beavers went on a 10-2 stretch in the first half to build a 22-11 lead with 13:18 until intermission on a layup by Ted Neil (Strong, ME). The lead was trimmed down to 37-33 on a 3-pointer by Pat Sullivan (Bedford, MA) with 1:38 until halftime, but Farmington took a 39-33 advantage into the locker room.

Paced by its full-court pressure, the Jumbos stormed into the second half with 22 points in the opening five minutes of the frame to take a 55-52 advantage. Pierce scored 10 of his points during the torrid stretch. The Beavers hung close, but an 11-3 run mid-frame gave the visitors a 70-59 lead with 5:51 left to play.

Undeterred, Farmington whittled the advantage down to 73-72 with 50 seconds left on a Fry trey, but Tufts was 5 of 6 from the charity stripe down the stretch, while the Beavers missed their final four shots as the Jumbos came away with a 78-72 win.

Box score