HARTFORD, Conn. - The Trinity College Bantams held a 45-43 lead at halftime but could not overcome some hot shooting by the visiting Williams College Ephs in the second half of a 94-79 setback in New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) men's basketball action this evening on Ogrodnik Court in Oosting Gymnasium.  The Bantams matched Williams in the first half, sinking seven of their 14 attempts from long range but the Ephs followed up a 7-for-14 performance from three-point range in the opening stanza with nine makes in 14 tries in the second half.  Trinity drops to 15-6 overall and 3-4 in the NESCAC and will host No. 3-ranked Middlebury tomorrow at 3 p.m., while No. 17-ranked Williams improves to 18-3 overall and 5-3 in the league.

Trinity fell behind, 7-0, early but came back to tie it at 7-7 after five straight points by sophomore guard Will Dorion (Needham, Mass.).  Both offenses went on to score almost at will over the rest of the first half, as just three fouls were called, play almost never stopped, and halftime arrived 30 minutes after the opening tip. Trinity held its the largest lead of the first half at 26-20 with 9:11 on the clock after a put-back by sophomore forward Sean Macarchuk (Croton-on-Hudson, N.Y.).  Williams tied the score at 28-all on a layup by Cole Prowitt-Smith with 6:44 on the clock, but Macarchuk and rookie forward Trevor MacDonald (Natick, Mass.) scored back-to-back for a 33-28 Bantam lead moments later.  Trinity senior captain C.J. redd (Peekskill, N.Y.) scored inside to give Trinity a 45-41 lead inside the final minute, but Nate Karren answered with a bucket at the 22-second mark.  Senior captain Dana Smith (Providence, R.I.) paced the Bantams with eight points at halftime, while Williams' Spencer Spivy had 13 points.

Trinity first-year Henry Vetter (Kenilworth, Ill.) scored on a drive 5:31 into the second half to give the home team a 59-57 lead, but Williams scored the next 11 points.  Consecutive layups by junior Ben Callahan-Gold (New York, N.Y.) and Smith made the score, 72-66, in the Ephs' favor with 8:09 on the clock, but Prowitt-Smith scored five points in a row and Williams maintained a double-digit lead the rest of the way.  Vetter led Trinity in scoring with 15 points and added four rebounds and three assists, Callahan-Gold had 14 points and four rebounds, Smith finished with 12 points and five boards, and Macarchuk had 11 points.  Dorion added seven points and five assists.  Spivy led all scorers with 28 points, while Prowitt-Smith scored 22 points, and Karren notched 15 points, seven rebounds, and eight assists.  The Ephs shot 56.7 percent from the field, 57.1 percent from long range, and 90.9 percent from the foul line.