MIAMI GARDENS, FL (December 21, 2025) -- Sophomore guard
Lukas Schmid posted a career-high 35 points Sunday afternoon, leading the No. 21 Tufts University men's basketball team to a 117-51 walloping of Vermont State University Lyndon in the second and final day of play from the 2025 Cruzin' Classic at St. Thomas University.
The 35 points by Schmid eclipsed his previous career-high of eight points, which he tallied back on December 3 against Bridgewater State. Schmid came into the game with 34 career points and nine field goals, but eclipsed those numbers in just one game as he as 12-for-16 overall and 5-of-7 from three-point land, while posting five rebounds, four assists and three steals as well. The 35 points off the bench are the most since at least 2000.
Schmid was one of four players in double figures for the Jumbos, as 11 players got into the score sheet on Sunday afternoon. Senior
Scott Gyimesi had 13 points on 5-of-9 shooting, but did not grab a rebound for the first time since his first career game back as a first-year when he only played one minutes.
Senior
Theo Liu came off the bench to have a strong game, as he totaled 11 points and eight rebounds on 4-of-5 shooting, posting a pair of steals as well. Sophomore
Isaac Friedman poured in 11 points as well, while first-year
Ricardo Nieves had eight points and five assists in the victory.
First-year
Griffin Linstra also filled the box score with eight points, four rebounds, five assists and three steals, and sophomore
Robbie Nyamwaya chalked up eight points and six rebounds, both career-highs. Senior
Joshua Bernstein needed just 15 minutes to pull in 15 rebounds, contributing six points as well, and
Zion Watt had seven points and three steals.
Tufts shot 55.8 percent (43-77) for the game, while nailing 14 of its 34 three-point attempts for a 41.2 percent clip from deep. The Jumbos were also a strong 85 percent (17-20) at the free throw line, and turned the 24 VTSU Lyndon turnovers into 28 points. Tufts also tallied an 83-19 edge in bench points, while dominating with a 56-10 points in the paint tally.
The Jumbos also had a 34-5 edge in fast break points in the win Sunday.
Lyndon led 6-3 after 90 seconds of the game, but Gyimesi started a 12-2 run over the next six minutes to take a 15-8 lead after a bucket by Linstra. It was just a three-point game with nine minutes to play in the opening stanza, but a 19-0 run by the Jumbos made it a 39-17 edge with 6:07 to go in the first stanza. Tufts would up its lead up to 27 just before the intermission at 49-22 with two Schmid free throws, as he had 14 points at the break.
The second half saw the Jumbos increase its lead up to as much as 68 with just under three minutes to play before earning the 66-point victory. It was the largest margin of victory in school history.
Tufts will host a non-conference tilt with Clark University Wednesday, December 32 at 1 p.m. in Cousens Gymnasium in the final Tufts sporting event of the 2025 calendar year.
--JUMBOS--
