Hartford, Conn. – Junior guard Jaquann Starks (Hartford, Conn.) had 19 points, four rebounds, and four assists to lead the Trinity College Bantams to an 81-76 victory over the visiting Springfield College Pride in men's basketball action this evening on Stan Ogrodnik Court in Ray Oosting Gymnasium.  Trinity improves to 5-2 with its third consecutive win and its first against the Pride in the last five meetings between the teams.  The Pride falls to 4-2 with their second setback in a row.

Trinity used a 22-4 run to turn a 17-16 deficit midway through the first half into a 38-21 lead with just under five minutes left in the opening half.  Senior tri-captain center George Papadeas (Athens, Greece) ignited the run with a drive and dunk down the middle of the lane, and the Bantams drained six three-pointers in a four-minute span including four by Starks and one each by junior guard Rick Naylor (Sudbury, Vt.) and sophomore guard Chris Turnbull (Ridgewood, N.J.).  Trinity went ahead by 20 points, 45-25, with 2:15 left on a put-back by senior forward Alex Conaway (New Haven, Conn.), but Springfield rallied to score eight of the last 10 points before the break.  Pride senior tri-captain guard Sean Martin (Rindge, N.H.) scored six of his 16 points in the first in the final 1:08 to make the score, 47-33, at intermission.  Starks had 13 points, while Trinity shot 57.1 percent from long range as a team (8-for-14) and outrebounded the Pride, 22-13, in the opening stanza.   

Springfield whittled away at the Bantam lead in the second half, cutting it to nine points at 57-48 on a traditional three-point play by Martin with 11:47 on the clock.  A bucket inside by Trinity senior tri-captain forward Steve Spirou (Pelham, N.H.) pushed the Bantam lead back up to 63-48 at the midpoint of the second, but a three-pointer from the right wing by Pride junior guard Alex Garstka (Westfield, Mass.) at the 5:12 mark brought the visitors back to within single digits at 67-58.  Martin drove the length of the floor for layups twice, and Pride senior tri-captain Nick Sienkiewicz (Cranston, R.I.) made one three-pointer and drilled three free throws after being fouled on another to make it a one-possession game at 77-74 with just 10 seconds left.  Starks and Turnbull calmly sank two foul shots apiece to secure the Bantam victory in the closing seconds.     

Trinity finished with a 41-to-30 edge on the boards and held Springfield to four three-pointers in 20 tries, but was whistled for 26 fouls and missed all three of its own long-range attempts in the second half.  Springfield stayed in the game by sinking 28 free throws, including 14 in 17 attempts by Martin who finished with a game-high 33 points to go with seven rebounds, three assists, and four steals.  Turnbull returned from an injury that caused him to miss four games and scored 17 points with four assists off the bench, making three of his four attempts from behind the arc, while Conaway added 13 points and nine boards, Ajayi notched 10 points and four rebounds, and sophomore forward Ed Ogundeko (Brooklyn,N.Y.) grabbed nine boards and blocked two shots for the Bantams.  Garstka joined Martin in double figures in scoring for Springfield with 12 points.