HARTFORD, Conn. – The 13th-ranked Trinity College Men's Basketball team held visiting Mitchell College to a season-low 31 points en route to an 87-31 non-conference victory at Oosting Gymnasium Wednesday night. The Bantams are off to their best start since the 2003-04 season, improving to 10-0 overall, while Mitchell drops to an 0-7 mark.
The Bantams never trailed in the game, jumping to an 11-2 lead over the opening five minutes behind five points from junior Will Dorion. A pair of buckets from first year Jared Berry pushed the lead to 22-5 with 10:51 remaining in the first half. Seven straight points from senior Ben Callahan-Gold capped a 14-4 run by the Bantams to extend the gap to 36-9 at the 5:53 mark. The sides traded late runs as the Bantams headed into halftime with a 46-19 lead.
Trinity sophomore Jarrel Okorougo slammed home a fast break dunk to kick off a 19-7 run over the opening ten minutes of the second half to build a 67-28 lead for the Bantams. Trinity outscored the Mariners, 20-5 over the final 10 minutes of action, featuring five points from sophomore Dane Moran and four-point efforts from sophomore Drew Lazarre and first year Paul Ippolito to send the Bantams to the 87-31 victory.
"We needed to take care of business and make sure it was never in doubt," said Trinity Head Coach James Cosgrove. "Great teams do that, and that's what we strive to be. Ultimately, defense is what's going to make or break you, and if we can continue to be solid and continue to work and get better, we have a good chance to have a good season based on our ability to defend. [Western New England] is a very good team, and it's going to be a tough game. We need to have two good days of practice and be ready to go on Saturday."
The Bantams had three scorers in double figures, led by a game-high 15 points from Okorougo and Callahan-Gold. Okorougo added seven rebounds and three assists, while Callahan-Gold grabbed six rebounds with three blocks. Sophomore Henry Vetter tallied 11 points with seven points and three assists, and Dorion chipped in eight points with a game-high four assists in the win.
Trinity dominated the rebounding category, 59-25, points in the paint, 56-10, and bench points, 34-9, during the game. The Bantams converted 36-of-71 (48.7%) from the field, including 5-of-23 (21.7%) from three-point range, and 10-of-21 (47.6%) from the foul line. The Mariners shot 13-of-57 (22.8%) from the floor, 3-of-12 (25.0%) from three-point and 2-of-5 (40.0%) from the foul line.
The Bantams return to the court when they host Western New England University in non-conference action Saturday at 1:00 p.m.
TRINITY ATHLETICS
