MEDFORD, Mass. – The Tufts University men's basketball team held off a late Bowdoin rally to earn a 74-68 win in a NESCAC contest on Saturday afternoon. The Jumbos improve to 16-5 (5-3 NESCAC) while the Polar Bears drop to 10-12 (2-7 NESCAC).
 
Game Highlights

• Bowdoin owned a halftime lead thanks to 46% shooting in the opening period, including 5-9 from long distance.
• Despite not attempting a single free throw, the Polar Bears got seven points from Michael Simonds and a late three-pointer from Alex Halpern to grab the lead at the break.
• Tufts came out firing in the second half, quickly took the lead, and extended their advantage to as many as 11 points, 60-49, with 8:52 remaining.
• Michael Simonds hit a three-pointer to spark a dramatic 14-3 run for the Polar Bears, tying the game at 63 apiece on a bucket from Xander Werkman with 4:14 to go.
• Bowdoin had a chance to take the lead following a Tufts turnover but couldn't convert and a three-pointer from Dylan Thoerner regained the lead for the Jumbos with 3:34 to go.
• The Polar Bears closed the gap to a single point on two occasions in the final three minutes but couldn't tie or go ahead as the Jumbos hit five late free throws to secure the victory.

 By The Numbers

• Xander Werkman had another huge game with 25 points and five rebounds while Andrew Szwez added 14.
• Michael Simonds had 13 points with six boards while Alex Halpern tallied nine points and seven assists.
• Both teams finished at 42% shooting for the game and Bowdoin held a slight edge in rebounding 38-37, with Tufts hitting ten three-pointers to nine for Bowdoin.
• The difference came at the free throw stripe where Tufts went 14-18 and Bowdoin went 5-6.

Up Next

• The Polar Bears will close out their regular season with a pair of huge NESCAC home games next weekend against Hamilton (7:00 p.m. Friday) and Amherst (3:00 p.m. Saturday.