HARTFORD, Conn. – The Trinity College Men's Basketball squad used a complete team effort to dismantle Utica, 83-54, in the First Round of the 2024 NCAA Division III Men's Basketball Championship Tournament at Ray Oosting Gymnasium Friday evening.
The Bantams rise to 27-1 on the season, while the Pioneers wrap their 2023-24 campaign with a 24-4 mark. Trinity will face Swarthmore College in the Second Round Saturday at 6:30 p.m. at Oosting Gymnasium.
The Bantams had 13 players register points in the victory, led by a team-high 15 points and a game-high seven rebounds from senior Ben Callahan-Gold. Sophomore Henry Vetter netted 11 points with six rebounds and two assists, while junior Will Dorion added 10 points and four rebounds. Sophomore Jarrel Okorougo chipped in nine points, six rebounds and two steals, and sophomore Drew Lazarre added eight points off the bench.
Graduate Justice Brantley paced the Utica offense behind a game-high 19 points with four rebounds, while senior Damien Cell notched 12 points and a game-high seven rebounds for the Pioneers. Graduate Thomas Morreale grabbed a team-high five rebounds with nine points and two assists.
The Bantams led wire-to-wire, opening the contest with an 8-5 lead in a raucous Oosting Gymnasium. The Pioneers kept play close midway staying within two possessions as an 11-8 run evened the score at 16-16 with 7:44 remaining in the first half. Trinity began to create separation with an 11-0 run, featuring five points from Dorion and capped by a three-point play from Callahan-Gold to build a 27-16 gap. The Bantams closed the half with three-pointers from Dorion and Callahan-Gold to take a 35-22 lead into halftime.
Trinity maintained a double-digit lead throughout the second half as a pair of buckets from Callahan-Gold handed the Bantams a 42-29 lead with 17:00 on the clock. Trinity saw their lead expand over the next six minutes as a fastbreak layup from Drew Lazarre put the Bantams on top 54-34 with 10:02 to play. A putback layup from Callahan-Gold at the 4:45 mark gave the Bantams their largest lead of the game, 72-42. The Trinity bench outscored the Pioneers, 31-1, during the game, scoring the final nine points for the Bantams en route to the 83-54 victory.
The Bantams dominated the rebounding column, 43-25, and points in the paint, 56-20, during the contest. Trinity shot 33-of-66 (50%) from the floor, 5-of-23 (21.7%) from three-point range, and 12-of-16 (75%) from the foul line. Utica connected on 19-of-48 (39.6%) from the floor, 8-of-17 (47.1%) from beyond the arc, and 8-of-13 (61.5%) from the free throw stripe.
TRINITY ATHLETICS
