Purchase, N.Y. – The visiting Trinity College Bantams scored the first 18 points of the night and never looked back to defeat the Manhattanville College Valiants, 75-60, in men's basketball action this evening at Kennedy Gymnasium. Trinity, which won its eighth straight game, improves to 10-2 while Manhattanville drops to 4-8 with its fourth loss in a row.  The Bantams, off to their best start since a 12-1 record after 13 games in 2006-07, open New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) play against two teams that have a combined record of 19-5 at Williams (9-3) and Hamilton (10-2) on Friday, January 9 and Saturday, January 10

Trinity was led by junior guard Jaquann Starks (Hartford, Conn.) with 18 points, while sophomore forward Ed Ogundeko (Brooklyn, N.Y.) added 11 points on 5-of-7 shooting from the field. Trinity as a team finished 25 for 53 (47.2 percent) from the floor in the win. Trinity won despite committing 22 turnovers, as they doubled up the Valiants, 30-15, on the boards.  Junior Anthony Maestre (Bronx, N.Y.) netted a game-high 19 points and classmate Juan Camacho (Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic) recorded 11 points and a team-best seven rebounds for Manhattanville (4-8), but it wasn't enough for a team that shot just 30.5 percent (18 for 59) from the field on the evening. 

In the opening 10 minutes in which the home team missed 12 of its first 13 field goal attempts, misfired on all four free throws and turned the ball over four times, Trinity sunk 10 of its first 15 shots in jumping out to a 22-2 lead with 10:22 to go in the first half. Seven different players scored for the Bantams during the opening stretch, led by Starks with five points and four from both Ogundeko and senior tri-captain center George Papadeas (Athens, Greece). Manhattanville lead down to single digits at 50-41. A three-pointer by junior guard Andrew Hurd (Windsor, Conn.) provided the answer for the Bantams, pushing the lead back to double digits for good with 6:18 on the clock.