Teams: Men's Basketball: Press Releases

Monday, November 26, 2007

O'KEEFE REACHES 1,000 CAREER POINTS FOR MEN'S BASKETBALL TEAM

MEDFORD -- There was some confusion surrounding the 1,000th career point scored by senior tri-captain Ryan O'Keefe (Everett, MA/Everett) of the Tufts men's basketball team. Entering the team's game against Kenyon at the Brandeis Tournament on Sunday, November 18, he needed 15 points for 1,000. A scoring error caused confusion as to which basket got him to the milestone, but it was all cleared up at the end as O'Keefe's 25 points led the Jumbos to a 69-63 victory and put him into quadruple figures for career points.

O'Keefe became the 26th player in the history of Tufts basketball to score 1,000. He finished his junior season with 981 points, leaving him 19 shy. After a shoulder injury limited his activity during the pre-season, he was not in the starting line-up in the season-opener against Bridgewater State at Brandeis. The Jumbos lost, with O'Keefe scoring four points in 11 minutes. The next day against Kenyon, he did not start again, but showed he was healthy enough to be the game-high scorer with the 25 points. He currently sits at 1,012 points, 24th all-time for the Jumbos.

A 6'3", 200-pound swingman, O'Keefe has been a major contributor since he came to Tufts in 2004. He scored 18 points in his college debut against host Washington University at the 21st Annual Lopata Classic in St. Louis. He went on to finish third on the team in scoring that season with 284 points for a 10.9 average. As a sophomore, he was a starter on the 2005-06 Tufts team that advanced to the NCAA Tournament "Sweet 16." He scored 360 points that season for a 12.0 scoring average, again third on the team. His scoring continued to climb during his junior season, when he scored 13.5 points per game with 337 in 25 starts.

O'Keefe is also in the top 10 on the Tufts career three-pointers list with 115 and counting. He has played in all 84 games at Tufts during his career, giving him a 12.0 scoring average.

Tufts is off to a 1-2 start this season, including a tight 89-87 loss to #12 Brandeis on Sunday at Cousens Gym. O'Keefe is third on the team with 10.3 points per game.

#