HARTFORD, Conn. – The second-seeded Trinity College Men's Basketball team defeated visiting seventh-seed Wesleyan University, 74-67, in the New England Small College Athletic Conference Quarterfinals at Oosting Gymnasium Saturday afternoon. The Bantams improved to 24-1 and advance to the Semifinals to face fourth-seeded Tufts University on Saturday, February 24 at Williams College.
The Bantams jumped to a 9-0 lead over the opening four minutes, paced by five points from senior Ben Callahan-Gold. The Cardinals rallied back with an 13-4 run, featuring five-point efforts from Shane Regan and Nicky Johnson, to even the score at 13-13 with 10:15 on the clock. The Bantams rebuilt an 18-13 advantage, but Wesleyan fought back with a 9-4 run to tie the game at 22-22. Trailing 24-22 with 1:37 remaining in the first half, Johnson knocked down a triple followed by a pair of free throws to give the Cardinals a 27-24 lead. Trinity used a three-pointer from sophomore Henry Vetter to knot the score at 27-27, but Wesleyan would add a layup from Jackson Cormier to hold a 29-27 lead heading into the break.
The Bantams came out of the locker room hot, executing a 18-9 run over the opening five minutes, powered by 10 points from Callahan-Gold, to possess a 45-38 lead over Wesleyan. Trinity continued their offensive onslaught as Vetter netted 12 points as part of a 18-10 run to push the Bantams lead to 63-48 with 10:17 to play. The Wesleyan defense held the Bantams scoreless over the next four-plus minutes as the Cardinals whittled the deficit to 63-61 with 4:21 remaining. Leading 65-63, the Bantams used buckets from Callahan-Gold and graduate Dana Smith to pad the lead to 69-63 with less than two minutes to play. Trinity held off the Cardinals down the stretch as junior Will Dorion and Callahan-Gold converted from the free throw line to secure the 74-67 victory.
Callahan-Gold led all scorers with a game-high 26 points, shooting 8-of-11 from the floor and 4-of-6 from three-point range, with eight rebounds, three blocks and two assists. Vetter tallied 20 points with five rebounds, five assists and two blocks, while sophomore Jarrel Okorougo added 14 points and seven rebounds. Smith dished out a game-high eight assists with six points and three rebounds in the win.
Regan paced the Cardinals offense with a team-high 23 points, shooting 8-of-15 from the field, with three rebounds and three assists. Johnson recorded 17 points with nine rebounds and seven assists, while Cormier grabbed a game-high 13 rebounds with seven points.
The Cardinals edged the Bantams on the boards, 36-32, while Trinity outscored Wesleyan in the paint, 30-28. The Bantams connected on 26-of-51 (51%) from the floor, including 7-of-17 (41.2%) from three-point range, and 15-of-23 (65.2%) from the free throw line. The Cardinals shot 24-of-59 (40.7%) from the field, 9-of-21 (42.9%) from three-point, and 10-of-17 (58.8%) from the foul line.
TRINITY ATHLETICS
