WORCESTER, Mass. – The fifth-ranked Trinity College Men's Basketball team defeated host Worcester State, 88-69, in a non-conference battle at the WSU Wellness Center Monday afternoon. The Bantams rise to 17-0 on the season, while the Lancers drop to 9-7 overall.
The Bantams found themselves in an early 6-1 hole after the opening three minutes of play, but senior Ben Callahan-Gold scored 13 straight points to help Trinity capture a 14-11 lead at the 13:49 mark. The Bantams began to pull away with a 16-4 run, featuring six points from sophomore Trevor McDonald, over the next four minutes to build a 30-15 advantage. Sophomore Henry Vetter sandwiched a seven-point spurt between a pair of treys from Callahan-Gold to escort the Bantams lead to 45-21. Trinity closed the first half on a 7-4 run to take a 52-25 lead into halftime.
Vetter opened the second half with a quick three-pointer as the Bantams pushed their advantage to 61-30 with 17:39 to play. Sophomore Jarrel Okorougo rattled off eight straight points for Trinity as the Bantams lead swelled to 71-38 with 12:46 on the clock. The Lancers mounted a late rally, executing a 19-3 run over the next five minutes to close the gap to 74-57. Callahan-Gold knocked down a pair of three-pointers and Okorougo added a back-to-back layups to halt the Worcester State momentum with an 84-59 lead with 4:14 to play. First-years Tristan Davis and Paul Ippolito chipped in late points to secure the 88-69 win.
The Bantams had three scorers in double figures, led by a game-high 27 points with a game-high eight rebounds from Callahan-Gold. Okorougo tallied 16 points with a game-high eight rebounds, while Vetter notched 13 points, five rebounds and two assists. Graduate Dana Smith dished out a game-high six assists in the win.
The Bantams controlled the rebounding column, 45-31, and edged the Lancers in the paint, 28-24, during the game. Trinity converted 32-of-74 (43.2%) attempts from the floor, including 13-of-29 (44.8%) from three-point range, and 11-of-14 (78.6%) from the foul line. Worcester State shot 28-of-58 (48.3%) from the field, 7-of-17 (41.2%) from three-point, and 6-of-9 (66.6%) from the free throw stripe.
Trinity will look to remain unbeaten when they travel to Wesleyan University for a New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) clash Saturday afternoon. Tip-off is slated for 2:00 p.m.
TRINITY ATHLETICS
