You could say it was a pretty good week for the Jumbos of Tufts University.
First off, the men’s basketball team got a much-needed 58-53 win over Bowdoin. Wins have been hard to come by, but any time you can win in the conference, it always helps.
The women also had a strong week. They won both of their games over Colby and Bowdoin, both of which were ranked heading into their games. Tufts pulled away in the second half to beat No. 25 Colby 72-57. Then on Saturday, it held No. 13 Bowdoin to 19 second-half points to improve to 15-2 with a 52-40 win.
However, those wins were slightly overshadowed by the big victory on Tuesday night by a former member of the men’s basketball team: Scott Brown. I think he won some special election to become the Commonwealth of Massachusetts' new Senator … or something like that.
Brown, class of 1981, defeated Martha Coakley, pulling off a come-from-behind victory the 1992 Buffalo Bills could appreciate. Sorry, Houston Oilers fans! Anyway, a few quick stats on the Senator-elect: "Downtown" Scotty Brown (somewhere in Seattle, Fred Brown is mulling copyright infringement) played all four seasons from 1977-81. Brown was known for his long-range "J" before the birth of the 3-point arc, and he amassed a more-than-respectable 925 points for a 9.9 PPG average. His teams had a record of 59-37 for a .615 winning percentage.
If you go to the school Web site, they have a picture of Brown in his uniform — yes, old-school high socks and short shorts (got to love it). I wish the Senator-elect the best of luck in Washington, but be careful: You can challenge the President to a game all you want. Just don’t be shocked if he uses one of his Chicago connections … maybe a certain No. 23 who goes by the initials M.J.
Games of the Week
Men: Wheaton 60, No. 8 MIT 57
MIT was 16-1 heading into this game. Their only loss was against Harvard. Yes, the same Harvard that beat BC and fell at UConn by only six points. Wheaton was 5-10. So how did they do it? Well, how about this: 10-19 from 3-point land and shooting 49 percent overall for the game. Who knows, maybe MIT was due to drop one, or maybe they were looking ahead. Whatever the case, Wheaton was hot, and that is all it takes — one day and all the shots fall for you. Just ask George Mason.
Women: Emmanuel 62, Norwich 61
The preeminent powers in the GNAC the past decade proved once again that their paths could meet up in the conference tournament come February. Playing without leading scorer Kristen LeBel, the Saints got some offensive spark from birthday girl Breanna Ockimey’s 17 points. Norwich hung in throughout, despite shooting below 20 percent in the first half. The second half featured runs by both teams, as Norwich led by five with fewer than four minutes left. An offensive putback by Iman Davis proved to be the difference as both teams are 4-1 in GNAC play.
Milestones
Colby Sawyer’s Jon Chaloux became the 13th member of the men’s 1,000-point club at the school in a 89-79 loss to Curry.
Endicott’s Ceciley Chisholm became the sixth woman in school history to eclipse 1,000 points during a 57-44 win over Anna Maria.
A pair of Plymouth State men reached the 1,000-point magic number in the same game. Jason O’Keefe and Mike Chergey achieved 1,000 in a 73-69 win over Southern Maine.
Sarah Brown of Wheelock rounds out the 1,000-point scorers as she reached the milestone last week against Becker.
Coaches also reaching milestones were Clark’s Paul Phillips, who won No. 350 in a 64-55 win over Babson, and Keene State’s Rob Colbert, who notched his 200th win with an 86-78 victory over UMass Boston.
Finally, a special mention and congratulations goes out to former Trinity (Conn.) men’s coach Stan Ogrodnik, who received a wonderful honor. Prior to Trinity’s game Saturday against No. 20 Amherst, the school dedicated the floor in his honor. Ogrodnik coached from 1981-2008 and retired with 469 wins, the most in school history. Congratulations to a coach who has the love and respect of not only his players but his school.
