12/08/2007
Tufts Thumps Men's Basketball

MEDFORD -- The Tufts men’s basketball team held off Clark University for a 98-88 victory in a hard-fought non-conference game on Saturday afternoon at Cousens Gym. Junior Jon Pierce (Belmont, MA) scored 25 points to lead Tufts (5-2), which won its fourth straight game.

A skirmish over a loose ball early in the first half set an intense tone for the game. Tufts opened a 20-13 lead on a lay-up by Pierce at the 13-minute mark, but the Cougars answered by scoring the next nine points to go ahead 22-20 on a lay-up by Peter Normandin (Westminster, MA) at 10:58. With the game tied 34-34, a three-pointer by Jumbos senior point guard Jeremy Black (Jamesville, NY) gave Tufts a 37-34 lead with 4:25 to play until halftime. They would not trail again, but the Cougars were never far behind.

The Jumbos had a 47-43 advantage at the break. Pierce connected for 13 first-half points for Tufts and senior Pat Landers (Worcester, MA) had 14 points at halftime for Clark.

Into the second half, Tufts was unable to pull away early. They took a 60-52 lead on a jumper by Aaron Gallant (Bangor, ME) at 15:25, but Clark quickly cut it back down to three (60-57) on two free throws by Mark Alexander (Providence, RI). The Jumbos led 71-61 on another Gallant lay-up at 10:53, but the Cougars were back within four on a three-pointer by Jack Minister (Manchester, England) that made it 75-71 with 7:30 left.

That was as close as the Cougars would get. The Jumbos were able to open up some breathing room with a 14-7 stretch capped by a lay-up from senior tri-captain Ryan O’Keefe (Everett, MA) at 2:36 that gave them an 11-point, 89-78 margin. The Cougars got within nine points twice down the stretch, including 91-82 on Normandin’s lay-up with 1:38 on the clock. Tufts hit their free throws down the stretch to put the game away.

Pierce, who scored 36 points on 14 for 18 shooting on Thursday night against Babson, hit 12 of 17 against Clark and led Tufts with nine rebounds. Gallant and O’Keefe both scored 19, with Gallant making 8 of 11 shot attempts and O’Keefe finishing with seven rebounds and three assists. The 98 points are the most this season for the Jumbos, who secured a wide 45-28 advantage on the boards over the Cougars.

Normandin finished as the game-high scorer with a career-best 29 points on 9 for 14 shooting from the field and 10 for 10 from the line. He also led the Cougars with eight rebounds. Landers scored 18 and Alexander totaled 16 points, six rebounds and four assists. Clark was 26 for 29 from the free throw line overall (89.7 percent). The Cougars dropped their third straight to fall to 3-5 overall.