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FOR IMMEDIATE
RELEASE |
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November 18, 2006
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Rhode Island College Men’s Basketball Score Report |
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Medford, MA |
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1 |
2 |
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Final |
Rhode Island College (2-0)
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45
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50
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95
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Tufts (1-1)
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42
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42
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84
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Anchormen Down 12th-Ranked Tufts, 95-84, to Win Tourney
Durgin Earns MVP Honors; Hill Named to All-Tournament Team |
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Medford, MA—Tournament MVP Kinsey Durgin (Greenwood, ME)
scored 23 points in the Tufts Tip-Off Tournament championship game to
lead Rhode Island College to a 95-84 victory over the host Jumbos on
Saturday afternoon in Cousens Gymnasium. |
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The
Anchormen had five players score in double-figures overall, including
15 by All-Tournament selection Tirrell Hill (Bronx, NY). He had
six points down the stretch when RIC (2-0) overcame the Jumbos, who
were ranked 12th nationally in the latest D3Hoops.com poll,
to win the game and the tournament. |
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Tufts, which dropped to 1-1, was led by 15 points, six rebounds and
three steals from All-Tournament pick Brian Kumf (Milford, MA).
Sophomore John Pierce (Belmont, MA) was also an All-Tournament
selection and finished with 10 points and seven rebounds. |
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The
first half was a tight 20 minutes that saw 11 ties and visiting RIC
holding a 45-42 lead heading into the break. The Jumbos had the
biggest leads at 10-5 and 12-7. Durgin scored 13 points by halftime
for the Anchormen and Kumf posted 10 for the Jumbos. |
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Rhode Island College pushed its lead to double-digits early in the
first half. A three-point play by Kaseem Johnson (New Haven, CT)
at 18:16 gave them a 55-45 lead at the end of a 10-3 run. The
Anchormen’s lead was nine points (58-49) when Tufts gained control of
the momentum. They initiated a 16-3 run that put them in front 65-61
on a pair of free throws by senior co-captain David Shepherd
(Grantham, NH). Six different Jumbos propelled the spurt with
points. |
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Rhode Island College would get the lead back at 70-68 on a
three-pointer by Hill at 9:47, but the Jumbos surged to a 78-72
advantage after a three-point play by junior Ryan O’Keefe (Everett,
MA) at 7:30. A three-pointer by Pierce put Tufts up 81-77 at 5:42,
but down the stretch it was the visiting Anchormen who made the plays
to earn the victory. |
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A
three-pointer by Durgin at 4:39 gave RIC an 83-81 edge. The Anchormen
then tacked on free throws by sophomore Cameron Stewart (Newport,
RI) and Hill to lead 87-82 at 2:18. Tufts would score its final
points of the game, and their only points of the last five and a half
minutes, on a three by O’Keefe at 1:30. That was sandwiched by a
jumper and a lay-up from Hill that produced a 91-84 Rhode Island lead
heading into the final minute. RIC added free throws while the Jumbos
missed shots to add up to the 95-84 final. |
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Johnson submitted major game for RIC with 19 points and 12 rebounds to
go with two steals. The Anchormen finished with 12 three-pointers,
including four by Durgin and three from Hill. Sophomore Bobby
Bailey (Fall River, MA) was busy with 12 points, eight rebounds
and four assists. |
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O’Keefe and junior Jake Weitzen (New York, NY) scored 13 points
each for Tufts, with the latter adding nine boards and four assists.
Tufts was just 5 for 23 from beyond the arc (.217). |
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-end- |