WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. – The second-seeded Trinity College Men's Basketball team earned their first trip to the New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) Championship game since the 2007-08 season after defeating fourth-seeded Tufts University, 80-68, in the NESCAC Semifinals at Chandler Gymnasium, on the campus of Williams College, Saturday afternoon.
The Bantams improve to 25-1 on the season, setting a new program record for wins in a season, besting the 24-2 mark set during the 1983-84 season. Trinity will face top-seeded Williams College in the NESCAC Championship game Sunday at Noon.
Sophomore Jarrel Okorougo paced the Bantams offense with his first double-double of the season, pouring in a career-high 26 points, shooting 9-of-14 from the field, with a game-high 11 rebounds. Sophomore Henry Vetter netted 19 points with three rebounds and two assists, while junior Will Dorion scored a season-high 17 points with three rebounds, three assists and two steals. Graduate Dana Smith grabbed a game-high 11 rebounds with five points and five assists in the win.
James Morakis led Tufts with a team-high 19 points, while Scott Gymesi logged a double-double with 18 points and a team-high 10 rebounds.
Tied 10-10 after the opening five minutes of play, the sides traded the lead seven times over the next four minutes as a three-pointer from Dorion put the Bantams ahead 22-19 with 11:36 on the clock. First-year Jared Berry netted five straight points to keep Trinity ahead until an 8-2 run from Tufts evened the score at 29-29. The Bantams used a pair of triples from Vetter and another trey from Dorion to rebuild a 40-33 lead with 1:42 remaining in the first half. Smith knocked down a jumper at the buzzer to give Trinity a 43-35 lead at the break.
A three-pointer from Vetter kicked off the second half scoring for Trinity, expanding the lead to 46-37. The Jumbos erased the deficit with a 10-2 run to pull within a basket, 48-47, with 14:45 remaining in the game. The Bantams held a slim edge over the Jumbos for the next as the sides went shot-for-shot over the next ten minutes, setting the score at 59-58 with 5:54 to play. The Bantams pulled away down the stretch with a 12-2 run, featuring seven points from Okorougo, to hold a 71-60 lead with 2:27 on the clock. Okorougo scored four more points and added a pair of free throws in the final minutes to help Trinity lock up the 80-68 victory.
The Bantams controlled the Jumbos in the rebounding column, 43-32, and edged Tufts in points in the paint, 24-22. Trinity connected on 29-of-72 (40.3%) from the field, including 10-of-32 (31.3%) from three-point range, and 12-of-15 (80%) from the foul line. The Jumbos shot 26-of-60 (43.3%) from the floor, 8-of-23 (34.8%) from three-point range, and 8-of-11 (72.7%) from the charity stripe. The Tufts bench outscored Trinity's, 15-9.
TRINITY ATHLETICS
