MEDFORD, Mass. – Scott Gyimesi scored 23 points on 8-of-12 shooting from the floor and added 13 rebounds as No. 16 Tufts University shot 56 percent from the floor while dealing the seventh-ranked Keene State College men's basketball team an 88-84 defeat in a non-conference battle of ranked teams Wednesday night at Cousens Gymnasium.

KSC (4-1) got an impressive effort from sophomore Wesley Odiase, who poured in a career-best 27 points on 11-of-18 shooting including a 2-of-3 effort from long range, but as a team finished just 6-of-26 from the three-point line and were beaten on the boards 42-21 as a second road win over a nationally-ranked team early in the season fell through their grasp.

After taking a 13-11 lead on consecutive jumpers by Spencer Aronson, the last of which coming 6:06 into the game, the Owls led for the final 14:54 of the opening half including by nine (22-13) with a little over 12 minutes to go until the break following a bucket by Leo Chaikin.  It was 45-36 KSC when Octavio Brito made two from the foul line with 1:27 to go, but a tip-in by Zion Watt while being fouled and an ensuing free throw brought the Jumbos (7-1) within six (45-39) at the break, with Brito and Odiase combining for 20 points on 8-of-15 shooting.  Both teams shot well over 50 percent (KSC 53.1 and Tufts 57.1), but the Owls limited the home team to just one three and forced eight turnovers while committing just two themselves.  In fact, for the game, KSC had just four miscues and Tufts 17.

The tenor of the game changed quickly early in the second half, as the Owls emerged from the locker room and missed their first three shots of the half and committed a turnover in the opening minute.  Odiase restored a 47-41 lead with 18:24 to go to snap KSC's drought, but Tufts scored eight points in 37 seconds to take their first lead in over 17 minutes, capped with a three by Dylan Reilly that made it 49-47.  The Jumbos' run expanded to 16-4 over the opening 3:57 of the second half and their lead ballooned to six after Joshua Bernstein and James Morakis converted layups on consecutive possessions, with the Owls suddenly finding themselves down 55-49.

It took only two trips down the court offensively for KSC to tie it, as Aronson and Odiase drilled triples within 36 seconds of each other before a three-point play by Nate Siow put the Owls back in front 58-55 with 13:54 left, puncturing a 9-0 burst.

The rapid momentum shifts continued despite the game remaining close throughout, as Tufts took a game-high eight-point advantage with 8:54 left after embarking on a 15-4 surge.  Morakis put his team back up by that margin (73-65) by canning a trey at the 8:08 mark, but Odiase scored six points in less than two minutes to bring the Owls right back within two heading down the stretch.  Four from the foul line – where Tufts shot 21-of-26 in the second half alone and KSC 6-of-7 – pushed the lead back to six with a little over five minutes to go, but Mitch Shettles connected from distance to bring the Owls within 80-78 at the 3:43 mark.  After a timeout, Trumann Gettings was fouled and sank two free throws to make it a two-possession game, and KSC never had the ball and a chance to tie after that despite the Jumbos ultimately going the final 7:18 without a made field goal.  Their final 13 points came from the free throw line after Morakis' jumper made it 75-67.   

Brito scored with 1:05 to go to make it an 86-82 game, and after Shettles forced a turnover by Gyimesi following his offensive rebound with 27 seconds to go, KSC got back within two again following a layup by Odiase with 14 ticks left.  However, Morakis made the final two of Tufts' 27 made free throws to deny the Owls a chance to win or force overtime.  The 34 opponent attempted free throws were a season-high against KSC, and double the amount allowed (17) when the Owls picked up a four-point road win over nationally-ranked Williams College on November 24.

"I think you can point to several reasons why we didn't get the result we wanted tonight," said Keene State head coach Steve Enright.  "I have to watch the film before I pinpoint exactly which areas of breakdown were our most costly.  Our interior defense, much like the Western New England game, hurt us.  We missed a good amount of open threes from good shooters.  I think typically we will shoot better than 6-for-26 from three."

"Credit to Tufts for the punch they threw in the second half.  We will learn from it and make some adjustments on the practice floor when we prepare for Plymouth State."

After their 53 percent shooting effort in the opening 20 minutes, KSC shot 42 percent in the second half.  Odiase was 7-for-12, while the rest of the team connected at only a 33 percent clip (8-24) as Tufts won the final 20 minutes 49-39, outrebounding the Owls 25-9 in the process.  KSC had just two offensive rebounds in the second half and five for the game.

Brito finished with 14 points (5-13 FG, 0-7 3-PT), six assists, and five rebounds for the Owls while Aronson had 11 points and Jean Baptiste 10.

Tufts got 26 points combined from Liam Kennelly (4-7 FG, 2-3 3-PT, 6-7 FT) and Gettings (2-2 FG, 6-8 FT) off the bench. Morakis finished with 15 points (5-8 FG, 1-2 3-PT, 4-4 FT), four rebounds, and three assists.  The Jumbos' 31-16 edge in points from reserves ultimately nullified KSC's 23-9 advantage in points off turnovers.  Through their first five games, the Owls have committed single-digit turnovers in four of them including four or less twice. 

Tufts beat a ranked KSC team for the second consecutive season following an NCAA tournament loss to the Owls in 2023.  The two decisions, including a 65-63 win a season ago when Bernstein scored the winning basket with less than two seconds to go, have been decided by a combined six points.  Tonight marked Keene State's first visit to Medford since December 3, 2009, a 91-79 loss.  Cousens Gymnasium has not been a friendly venue for the Owls, who lost a 96-94 decision there in 2004 and a 118-109 triple-overtime decision in 2006 before tonight's four-point defeat.  KSC's lone true road win in the series came in 2002 (88-85).  The teams played regularly through the 2010-2011 season before the series went on a hiatus following an 86-64 KSC win December 2, 2010, not resuming until the NCAA encounter at Spaulding Gymnasium two seasons ago, when KSC advanced to the Sweet 16 with a 77-72 win in which Jeff Hunter had 25 points and 11 rebounds and Siow added 18 points.

The Owls are off for a week before hosting Plymouth State University (6-1, 1-0 LEC) at Spaulding Gymnasium on December 11 at 7:30 p.m.  The Panthers opened their conference slate with a 70-65 home win over the University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth tonight.  KSC will tackle two conference games next week before a holiday break leads into a trip to Wisconsin later in December.