MEDFORD – Behind a double-double and a career-high 24 points from senior tri-captain Stephen Haladyna the No. 20 Tufts men's basketball team edged visiting Southern Vermont, 78-76, during NCAA Tournament First Round action in Cousens Gym on Friday night.  The Jumbos advance to play Skidmore in the Second Round on Saturday at 7 pm in Cousens Gym.

Skidmore earned a come-from-behind 83-72 win over Franklin and Marshall in the first game of the double header on Friday.  The Jumbos improve to 21-6 with the win, while Southern Vermont sees their season come to an end with a 24-4 record.  The loss snapped a 16-game winning streak that the Mountaineers had going.

Things didn't go the Jumbos way at the start of the game, as the Mountaineers jumped out to a six-point lead with four points from James Jeff and a pair from Casey Hall.  But the Jumbos responded with four points from junior tri-captain Tom Palleschi and two from Haladyna to take the one point advantage just under five minutes into the first half. 

Palleschi added a couple of free throws to move the lead to three, but a layup by Jordan Davante and the made free throw after tied the game again.  The Jumbos and the Mountaineers would play back and forth for the next three minutes, and the game would be tied an additional three times before the Jumbos were able to grow a sizable lead.

A layup by junior Tarik Smith followed by two made shots from the charity stipe and one from downtown by senior Ryan Spadaford moved the Jumbo lead to six, 30-24, with just under six minutes left in the first half.  Smith added a layup with a made free throw just a minute later to push the lead to nine.  

The Mountaineers would not let the Jumbo lead grow any larger than that, as Davante turned in four points and Nate Goldsmith helped with three of his won.  The Jumbos would take a 42-35 advantage into halftime.

After Palleschi opened up the half with two points for the Jumbos, the Mountaineers scored eight unanswered to cut the Jumbo lead to just one.  A DeShawn Hamlet layup, followed by Hall sinking a three and William Bromirski with one of his own from downtown moved the score to 49-48 just about three and a half minutes into the second half.

Thanks to five points from Haladyna and eight from sophomore Ben Engvall, the Jumbos took back the lead and would maintain that lead for most of the rest of the second half.  With 6:49 left on the clock the Jumbos had a six point advantage, leading the Mountaineers, 66-60.  But, the Mountaineers got a layup from Hall and two points from Rayshawn Taylor, and Hamlet brought the Moutaineers within one with a layup with 5:04 left in the game.

Engvall made two free throws to grow the Jumbo lead to three again, but a layup by Jeff, followed by two points from Palleschi for the Jumbos, and then a three by Jeff tied the game at 71 with 2:28 left on the clock.  

Spadaford put the Jumbos ahead by two with a jumper with 2:08 left in the game, but Bromirski responded with a three to give the visitors the advantage, 74-73, with just 1:03 remaining.

The Jumbos brought the ball down the court and found Haladyna wide open in the right corner, and he drained a three to put the Jumbos up by two 76-74, with 51 seconds remaining.  The two teams would foul back and forth in the last minute of the game, and the Jumbos had their chance to grow their lead, but would only make two of their six free throws in the final 20 seconds of the game.

Two made free throws by Josh Borders brought the Moutaineers within one, 77-76, with nine seconds remaining.  But, Haladyna made one of his two and the Jumbos played some solid defense not allowing the Moutaineers to get off a good shot in the final seconds.

Jeff finished with 13 points for Southern Vermont in the loss.  Hamlet and Goldsmith each added 12 to the effort.  Hamlet also had a team-leading eight rebounds on the night.  Hall finished with ten points and six boards, along with three blocks.  

Haladyna finished with a career-high 24 points and added 10 rebounds to the effort.  The senior, who scored his 1,000th career point in the Jumbos last game, had scored 23 points twice in his career--once against UMass-Boston during the Jumbos 2012-13 campaign and again against Bowdoin during the 2013-24 season.  His season high this year was 22 against Williams in the Jumbos regular season finale.

Palleschi had 17 points and five rebounds with a monster eight blocks for the Jumbos.  Spadaford finished with 12 points and a team-high ten rebounds for the Jumbos.  Smith tallied five points and six assists on the night.  The Jumbos got some significant contributions from their bench, as Engvall finished with eight points and seven rebounds and freshman Ethan Feldman turned in a career-high ten points for the Jumbos.

Tonight was the first time the Jumbos have played an NCAA Tournament game at home on the Cousens Gym court.  All three of their other tournament appearances have been on the road.  The history-making season will continue for the Jumbos on Saturday, when they host Skidmore in a NCAA Second Round game with tip off scheduled for 7 pm.

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