SCHENECTADY, N.Y. – The No. 1 ranked Trinity College Men's Basketball team handled Russell Sage College, 105-46, in the opening round of the Sig Makofski Tournament, hosted by Union College, at the Viniar Athletic Center Saturday afternoon. The Bantams improve to 4-0 on the season, while the Gators suffer their first lost at 5-1 overall.
What Happened:
- Leading 8-6 after the opening five minutes of the first half, the Bantams ripped off a 14-3 run to take a 22-9 lead with 8:45 remaining in the half.
- Trinity orchestrated a 25-7 run, paced by five points from Drew Lazarre and four-point efforts from Henry Vetter and Paul Ippolito, to close the first half with a 47-16 advantage.
- Five points from Tristan Davis punctuated a 12-7 run from Trinity to kick off the second half, building a 59-23 lead with 16:09 left to play.
- The Bantams defense limited the Gators to seven points over the next seven minutes as the lead swelled to 79-30 on a layup from David Ayles at the 9:36 mark.
- Paul Jordan led the Bantams down the stretch with 12 points over the final five minutes to secure the 105-46 victory.
Inside the Numbers:
- The Bantams shot a season-high 52.4% (43-of-82) from the field, including 6-of-28 (21.4%) from three-point range, and 13-of-18 (72.2%) from the foul line.
- The Gators connected on 19-of-58 (32.8%) attempts from the floor, 4-of-15 (26.7%) from three-point, and 50% (4-of-8) from the charity stripe.
- Rebounds: Trinity 49, Sage 33
- Points in the Paint: Trinity 72, Sage 24
- Bench Points: Trinity 47, Sage 20
- The Bantams had five scorers in double figures, led by Vetter with a game-high 16 points, three rebounds and three steals.
- Jarrel Okorougo registered 14 points with a game-high six rebounds, two assists and a block, while Jordan added 14 points, two rebounds, two steals and an assist off the bench.
- Lazarre chipped in 13 points and four rebounds, Jared Berry had 10 points and five rebounds, while Davis and Berete added nine points each.
- Ben Aprilante paced the Gators with a team-high nine points and three rebounds, Pape Tunkara notched seven points, and Brandon Harris grabbed a game-high six rebounds with four points.
Up Next:
- The Bantams will be back in action when they take on host Union College (4-1) in the Sig Makofski Tournament Championship Game on Sunday, November 30 at 4:00 p.m.
- All-time, Trinity owns a 23-16 record against the Garnet Chargers, dating back to their first meeting in 1923-24.
- The squads last met during the 2010-11 season with the Bantams capturing a 77-44 victory at Union.