Teams: Men's Basketball: Press Releases

Wednesday, March 5, 2008

LEADING SCORER JON PIERCE EARNS ALL-NESCAC SECOND TEAM NOD

All-NESCAC Second Teamer Jon Pierce

MEDFORD -- Junior forward Jon Pierce (Belmont, MA/Phillips Exeter) of the Tufts men's basketball team, the leading scorer in the New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC), was named to the All-Conference Second Team on Wednesday when the conference office released the annual awards.

Pierce was the NESCAC Rookie of the Year last season and was twice named the conference's Player of the Week this season. He scored 21.5 points per game, the first Jumbo to average over 20 per game in 12 years since Chad Onofrio scored 20.3 in 1995-96. Pierce's 516 points scored in 24 games this season are the seventh most for a single-season in over 100 years of Tufts basketball.

In addition to leading the league in scoring, Pierce was tied for fourth in NESCAC with 8.3 rebounds per game (199 total). His .523 field goal percentage (195/373), .413 three-point percentage (43/104), 43 three-pointers made and 24 blocked shots were all ranked among the conference's top 15 individually.

Pierce has become one of the more prolific scorers in Tufts history. He scored 20 or more points 15 times during the 2007-08 season, including two games with over 30 points. His 36 points against Babson on December 6 were the most by a Tufts player since the 1996-97 season. He had six three-pointers in that game. The 6'5", 240-pounder scored 34 at UMass Boston on January 10 and had 28 points versus Western New England on January 29. He led the team in scoring or shared the team lead in 17 of 24 games this winter. Through two seasons with Coach Bob Sheldon's Jumbos, Pierce has scored 913 points in 48 games for a 19.0 scoring average.

He reached double-digits in rebounds 10 times during the season, including team-highs of 13 against Williams and UMass Boston. His blocked shots total included six at Keene State and four against Connecticut College.

A transfer from Drew University, where he did not play, Pierce burst upon the scene with 26 points in his first game for the Jumbos against Lasell on November 17, 2006. He went on to lead the team with 16.5 points per game.

The Jumbos finished the season with a disappointing 11-13 overall record and 1-8 mark in NESCAC.

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