Box Score

BIDDEFORD, Maine -- University of New England senior guard Jaykyri Simpson (East Cleburne, Texas) had 21 points, seven rebounds and seven assists to lead the Nor'easters to their fourth consecutive win, an 89-81 decision over the Tufts University Jumbos in non-conference men's basketball action Tuesday evening at the Campus Center.

Leading by one (40-39) at intermission, the Nor'easters opened  the second half with a 12-0 run to take a 52-39 advantage.  First-year guard Quentin Thompson (Austin, Texas) scored five points during the spurt, and classmate Anthony Johnson (Austin, Texas) and Johnnie Jefferson (Dallas, Texas) added three-pointers.

At that point, pre-season junior all-American Jon Pierce (Belmont, Mass.) went to work for the Jumbos, scoring 10 points - including a pair of three-pointers - over the ensuing five minutes to pull Tufts within four at 56-52.

The Nor'easters responded by scoring 15 of the next 17 points to pull away.  Jefferson had a lay-up and three-pointer to cap the surge and give UNE a 69-54 lead with 7:55 to play.

Tufts was able to close within six twice the remainder of the way but could never get below a two-possession game.

Simpson was 11 of 12 at the free throw line en route to his season-high 21 points.  Johnson - the reigning Commonwealth Coast Conference Rookie of the Week - continued his stellar play with 17 points on 8-for-11 shooting from the floor.  Jefferson tossed in 16 points, including four buckets from beyond the arc.  Thompson played the finest game of his collegiate career, finishing with 15 points, nine rebounds, six steals and four assists.

Pierce powered his way to game highs in points (26) and rebounds (17), while junior forward Dave Beyel (Ocean City, N.J.) made 10 of 14 from the floor, including 4 of 7 from three-point land, to score 24 points.  Junior guard Reed Morgan (New York, N.Y.) came off the bench to add 12 points for the Jumbos, who held a 44-33 rebounding margin.

A trapping UNE defense came up with 15 steals on 27 Tufts' turnovers.  The Nor'easters converted many of those steals into a total of 17 fastbreak points.  The Nor'easters also shot 57.1 percent (16 of 28) from the field in the second frame.

UNE (5-3) concludes first-semester play Saturday when it heads to UMaine Farmington for a 3:00 p.m. game.  The Jumbos (4-4) are off until January when they head to California to take on La Verne (Jan. 2) and Cal Lutheran (Jan. 3).