'MEDFORD - In a wild night of men's basketball at Cousens Gymnasium,Tufts University took a 118-109 victory over Keene State College in three overtimes on Wednesday. The Jumbos out-scored the Owls 21-12 in the third overtime

period to give the visitors their first loss of the season.

Tufts improved to 5-2 with sophomore Jon Pierce (Belmont, MA) scoring 22 points, senior co-captain David Shepherd (Grantham, NH) 21 and junior Jake Weitzen (New York, NY) 20. Just four days ago, the Jumbos played three overtimes for an 88-81 victory at MIT on Saturday.

"We never lose in triple overtime," cracked Tufts head coach Bob Sheldon after the game.

Keene State overcame a 14-point deficit with eight minutes remaining to send the game to overtime. They were led by 28 points from game-high scorer Tyler Kathan (Ludlow, VT) and 24 by sophomore Nate Anderson (Westminster, MA).

Tufts had a 76-65 lead with 3:36 left in the second half after a three-pointer by Shepherd, but Keene closed the half with a 14-3 run to tie it. Two three-pointers by junior Shiwon Davis (Bridgeport, CT)helped the cause. In the thrilling final seconds of regulation, Kathan hit a jumper with 23 seconds left to pull Keene within 79-77. The Jumbos then turned the ball over when they could not inbound it within five seconds. Kathan nailed another jumper with only 11 ticks left to tie the score at 79-79. Weitzen was called for a charge on Tufts' trip up the

court, but Davis could not convert a drive to the basket to win it for the Owls.

Into the first overtime, Keene State had a five-point lead at 85-80 with 1:12 left following two free throws by Matt Hickey (Mahopac, NY). Shepherd hit consecutive jumpers to make the score 85-84 Keene with 21 seconds remaining. Keene State did a nice job hitting clutch free throws

to keep the lead, but two more points from Shepherd and an NBA three by Pierce at the buzzer sent the game to a second overtime tied at 89-89.

Kathan was at it again in the second overtime, hitting a jumper with three seconds remaining to tie the score at 97-97 and force a third overtime period. The Jumbos scored the first five points of the third overtime on a three-pointer and two free throws by sophomore Aaron Gallant (Bangor, ME). It was still a one-possession game when Keene's Anderson hit a lay-up that cut the Tufts margin to 106-103 with 1:40 on the clock. In the final minute though, the Jumbos were 12 for 12 from the free throw line to ice the victory.

Tufts won with starters Ryan O'Keefe (Everett, MA), Brian Kumf (Milford,MA) and Brian Fitzgerald (Bedford, NH) fouling out during regulation. Weitzen then took a seat with his fifth foul in the first overtime. Shepherd was his typical clutch self, junior guard Jeremy Black

(Jamesville, NY) was a major contributor with 11 points and Dave Beyel Ocean City, NJ) didn't play like a freshman. He finished with a double-double of 11 points and 10 rebounds, mostly in the overtime periods.

Keene State also lost many of its starters to fouls in a game that featured 75 total infractions.

(Courtesy Tufts Sports Information)