In a physical battle at the Max Stern Athletic Center on Thursday night, the Tufts University Jumbos defeated the Yeshiva Maccabees 75-64. This was the first matchup between these two programs since 1984, and fans from both sides packed the gym to witness this contest. Tufts jumped out to a lead early on, taking an 11 point lead into halftime, but not before the Macs stormed back to take the lead early in the second half. The Jumbos were ultimately able to out-muscle the Macs and pull away for their ninth victory of the season.
It was a slow start on the offensive end, as neither squad could find their stroke in any way. Zevi Samet got the scoring started, knocking down a jumper a little over two minutes in and giving the Macs an early lead. The teams traded the lead a few times before Tufts started to gain some separation towards the end of the first half. They led 34-23 at the break. The Macs came out of the locker room ready to play in the second half as they erased the entire deficit in all of four minutes, taking a 37-36 lead on a Max Zakheim three. The Macs seemed to be back in the game, but after a near six-minute scoring drought, they found themselves trailing by double digits once again. This time, the Jumbos maintained their lead and cruised until the final buzzer sounded.
Paint Battle:
It was a very physical game, and Tufts dominated Yeshiva down low, scoring 54 points in the paint to the Macs’ 26. The Jumbos were a much bigger team, and with their depth were able to wear down the Macs’ interior defense and score at will in the paint all night.
Points off Turnovers:
Neither team was particularly successful at taking care of the ball tonight, as they combined for a whopping 37 turnovers. Tufts was responsible for 25 of those, but the Macs’ inability to take advantage of them - scoring only 18 points off turnovers - greatly hurt their chances to win this.
For Tufts (9-2):
James Morakis led the Jumbos with 12 points and grabbed 5 rebounds in only 12 minutes played.
Dylan Thoerner scored 11 points and 2 rebounds.
Tyler Aronson and Trumann Gettings added 10 points each for the Jumbos.
For Yeshiva (8-7, 6-2):
Max Zakheim led all scorers with 24 points on 6-of-11 shooting from the field and 10-of-13 from the free throw line.
Zevi Samet played a game high 36 minutes and scored 20 points.
Up Next:
The Macs travel to Middletown, Connecticut to take on Wesleyan University on January 18. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:30 PM.
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