HARTFORD, Conn. – Head Coach James Cosgrove became the third coach in program history to reach the 200-win plateau as the tenth-ranked Trinity College Men's Basketball team rallied from an early deficit to defeat visiting Bridgewater State, 89-75, in the Championship game of the 2023 Trinity College Holiday Invitational Sunday afternoon at Oosting Gymnasium. The Bantams improve to a 13-0 record, while the Bears drop to 4-8 overall. Cosgrove joins Stan Ogrodnik (469) and Ray Oosting (259) as the only coaches to reach 200 career wins at Trinity.
The Bears jumped to an early 11-5 lead over the opening three minutes behind six points from Alex Gonzalez. The Bantams battled back and a layup from sophomore Henry Vetter closed the gap to 13-11 at the 15:29 mark, but Bridgewater State used an 8-2 run in less than two minutes to build a 21-13 advantage. Trailing 31-24 with 8:16 remaining in the half, Trinity used an 8-0 run over the next two minutes to take their first lead, 32-31. The Bears regained the lead with a 7-2 run, but the Bantams responded with a 10-2 run in less than two minutes as a three-pointer from junior Sean Macarchuk put Trinity up 44-40. The Bantams took a 46-42 lead into halftime.
Buckets from senior Ben Callahan-Gold and sophomore Jarrel Okorougo pushed the Bantams lead to 51-42. The Bears pulled within a possession behind an 11-5 run, powered by eight points from Emerson Halblieb, until five straight points from Macarchuk ignited a 7-0 run to put Trinity ahead 63-53 with 14:07 to play. Six consecutive points from first year Jared Berry helped the Bantams pull away, and then Vetter netted five straight points to escort the lead to 77-60. With 3:54 to play, Callahan-Gold converted a layup in the paint to give the Bantams their largest lead, 81-63. Okorougo added six points down the stretch to send Trinity to the 89-75 victory.
The Bantams delivered a balanced offensive attack with five players reaching double figures in scoring, led by a game-high 23 points , six assists and five rebounds from Vetter. Callahan-Gold logged 19 points with two rebounds, while Macarchuk had 13 points shooting 5-of-8 from the floor. Okorougo tallied 12 points with four rebounds, and Berry netted 11 points in the win. Okpoebo and Macarchuk earned All-Tournament Team honors.
The Bantams edged the Bears on the glass, 39-31, and controlled points in the paint, 54-34, and bench points, 26-10. Trinity converted 36-of-70 (51.4%) from the floor, including 8-of-26 (30.8%) from three-point, and 9-of-11 (81.8%) from the foul line. Bridgewater State shot 30-of-68 (44.1%) from the field, 8-of-24 (33.3%) from three-point, and 7-of-8 (87.5%) from the free throw stripe.
The Bantams return to the floor when they kick off New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) play as they welcome Colby College to Oosting Gymnasium Friday night. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:00 p.m.
TRINITY ATHLETICS
2023 Trinity College Holiday Invitational All-Tournament Team
· Micah Morris (FDU-Florham)
· James Phelan (Thomas)
· Emerson Halblieb (Bridgewater State)
· Sean Okpoebo (Trinity)
· Sean Macarchuk (Trinity)
