Teams: Men's Basketball: Schedule & Results

JUMBOS WIN SECOND STRAIGHT GAME, 77-67 AT WHEATON

COLLEGE MEN'S BASKETBALL FINAL SCORE
Tufts 77, Wheaton 67

At Norton, MA
Tuesday, January 26, 2010

Game Statistics

Senior Dave Beyel's 21 points, eight rebounds, and five assists led Tufts to a second-straight win

NORTON -- The Tufts University men's basketball team never trailed while earning their second straight victory on Tuesday night, a 77-67 final at Wheaton College's Emerson Gymnasium. Senior Dave Beyel (Ocean City, NJ) totaled 21 points, eight rebounds and five assists while turning in an eight for nine performance at the charity stripe for Tufts.

The Jumbos led by 14 in the first half and Wheaton came back to tie the score in the second half. However, Tufts regrouped to finish off the Lions and improve to 5-12 on the season. The Lyons fell to 6-11.

Freshman Scott Anderson (Sudbury, MA) finished with 16 points and seven boards, while senior tri-captain Jon Pierce (Belmont, MA) had 15 points, seven caroms and three blocks. The Jumbos held a 42-26 advantage on the glass.

For Wheaton, senior Jaxon Leo (Leesburg, VA) led the way with 19 points and seven rebounds while shooting seven of 10, including three for three from beyond the arc. Classmate Ben Stehle (Newton, MA) had 13 points and six boards, while sophomore Brendan Degnan (Narragansett, RI) turned in 14 points and four assists, hitting eight of nine free-throw tries. Sophomore Anthony Weeks (Fitchburg, MA) added 14 points in 24 minutes off the bench.

The Lyons completed a 12-0 run that bridged halftime when Leo dropped in consecutive hoops early in the second stanza, bringing the hosts within 28-26 at the 18:13 mark. After Tufts extended its lead out to 35-26 behind seven straight points, the Lyons continued to chisel away, with Leo and Stehle combining for their team's first 16 points of the period. Leo netted 10 in the first 4:42 alone. Wheaton eventually tied the game at 40 on a Weeks driving lay-up with 13:01 remaining, the first of seven consecutive Lyon points the sophomore scored.

Tufts freshman Alex Goldfarb (New York, NY) countered by burying a three at 12:35 to give Tufts the lead for good. Wheaton cut its deficit back to one point three times by 9:48, when Degnan's two freebies made it 48-47, but the Jumbos extended their advantage to as many as 12 points before the teams combined to go 23 of 26 on free-throw tries in the final 5:36, with Tufts turning in a 15 of 17 display.

Early on, Wheaton trailed just 8-7 after Degnan's jumper at the 16-minute mark of the opening half, but the Lyons were held to two free throws during the nearly 10 minutes that ensued. Tufts followed with a 12-2 run to go up by a 20-9 count on an Anderson hoop at 7:53. Weeks drained a three-pointer at 6:18 to break the Blue and White's field goal drought, but Beyel later netted five consecutive points to give the Jumbos a 28-14 lead with 4:03 left. After scoring 14 points in the opening 17:21, Wheaton finished the half with an 8-0 run during the final 2:39 while going four for four at the charity stripe to pull within 28-22 at halftime.

The Jumbos continue NESCAC play at Wesleyan on Friday night. Wheaton finishes non-league play on Thursday at Worcester State College at 7:00 p.m.

Game release courtesy of Wheaton College.

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