Teams: Men's Basketball: Press Releases

Monday, January 14, 2007

PIERCE SCORES SECOND NESCAC MEN'S BASKETBALL HONOR

MEDFORD -- Junior forward Jon Pierce (Belmont, MA/Phillips Exeter), one of the top 30 Division III scorers in the country this season, improved his numbers in two games last week and has been named New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) Co-Player of the Week for doing so.

Pierce scored a combined 61 points in Jumbos wins at UMass Boston (92-76) on Thursday and at Wheaton (89-75) on Saturday, an average of 30.5 per game that lifted his season's average to 23.2 ppg. That mark leads the NESCAC by almost five points per game. In the two wins, Pierce shot 55.6 percent (20/36) and averaged 11.5 rebounds per game.

At UMass Boston, Pierce was 11 for 17 from the floor (one three) and went to the free throw line 19 times, making 11, for 34 points. He also grabbed 13 rebounds and had a steal in 34 minutes. Two days later, he was 9 for 19 from the field, 1 for 2 from three-point land and 8 for 11 from the charity stripe for 27 points. He added 10 rebounds and two blocked shots in 31 minutes. The two Tufts wins lifted Coach Bob Sheldon's squad to 8-4.

The 6'5", 240-pound forward earned the NESCAC Player of the Week award on December 10 after averaging 28.7 points in three games. This week he shares the honor with Amherst senior Fletcher Walters, who averaged 19.5 points on sharp shooting overall and from the line.

Pierce was the league's Rookie of the Year last season as a sophomore after transferring from Drew University, where he did not play. He led Tufts with 16.5 points per game. This season, in addition to being NESCAC's leading scorer, he is fourth in rebounding (9.0 per game) and ninth in three-point field goal percentage (23 for 50, .460).

#