Courtesy Tufts Sports Information

CORTLAND, N.Y. - Mr. Clutch David Shepherd (Grantham, N.H.) swished four free throws in the final 24 seconds amidst a deafening Corey Gymnasium at SUNY Cortland to seal the Tufts University men's basketball team's first trip to the NCAA Tournament "Sweet 16" with a 68-65 victory against Cortland in the second round of the NCAA Tournament on Saturday night.

The Jumbos, who set a school record for wins with their 23rd, now move on to the tournament sectionals next Friday. The were led by 21 points from sophomore Ryan O'Keefe (Everett, Mass.), who hit four three pointers. The team will next join NESCAC foe Amherst, St. John Fisher and Utica at the regional. Pairings will be announced soon.

Tufts had to hold off a tough Cortland team all night to move on. The Jumbos led for the vast majority of the game, but the Red Dragons were frequently breathing down their necks. The hosts hit several clutch shots, played tough defense and had nearly 1,000 fans roaring for them for a serious home-court advantage. The Jumbos persevered with one of the great wins in their history.

The Jumbos led by eight, 62-54, with 1:18 left in the second half following consecutive three-point plays by sophomore Jake Weitzen (New York, N.Y.) and senior tri-captain Dan Martin (Sandwich, Mass.). Cortland's Dave Jutton (Red Hook, N.Y.) drained a three-pointer with 31 seconds left to cut the margin to three points, 64-61. Shepherd was fouled and calmly hit two at the line for a 66-61 Jumbo lead with 24 seconds on the clock. On Cortland's next trip down the floor, Scott Taggart (Sidney Center, N.Y.) scored on a put-back and was fouled. He missed the free throw, but Frank Ranieri (Cicero, N.Y.) tipped it in at the Red Dragons were within one at 66-65 with 12 seconds remaining. Shepherd added two more ice-in-his-veins free throws at 0:11, then Ranieri missed a three-pointer at the other end and the game was over.

Tufts had stormed to 17-3 lead in enemy territory primarily behind O'Keefe's. His three-pointer at 11:50 put the Jumbos up by 14. The tide turned from there, as Cortland recovered and came back to tie the score at 25-25 on a lay-up by Taggart with 1:50 to go until halftime. The score was tied 29-29 at the break, with O’Keefe’s 10 points leading Tufts and Jutton scoring nine with three assists for the Red Dragons.

In the first part of the second half, Weitzen overcame a cold first half and helped the Jumbos to an 11-point 42-31 lead with a lay-up at 14:01. He would have 12 of his 14 points in the second half. Cortland again rallied and a jumper by Rod Headley (Peekskill, N.Y.) made it a one-possession game at 49-46 with 5:34 remaining. An O'Keefe three-pointer put Tufts up by double-digits (56-46) at 3:46, leading up to the dramatic finish.

Shepherd finished with 14 points, five assists and four steals as Tufts improved to 23-6. Weitzen added eight rebounds and four assists to his game, while junior Brian Kumf (Milford, Mass.) scored eight points and grapped eight rebounds.

Simon Skrelja (Hastings-on-Hudson, N.Y.) had a phenomenal second-half for Cortland and finished with 18 points, 10 rebounds and four steals. Jutton scored 14 points and Ranieri finished with 13. Both had five rebounds. Taggart earned a double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds.