Hartford, Conn. – Sophomore forward Donald Jorden (Tampa, Fla.) had 17 points, making eight of 10 shots from the field, and 13 rebounds to lead the Trinity College Bantams to a 69-53 win over the visiting Clarkson University Golden Knights in men's basketball action this afternoon at Oosting Gymnasium. Trinity improves to 7-2 with its fourth victory in a row, and will close the fall semester at Anna Maria tomorrow at 2 p.m. The Golden Knights fall to 0-9 and are off until a December 30 home game against Canton State.
Trinity led wire-to-wire, beginning with a jumper by junior tri-captain Kyle Padmore (Milton, Mass.) 1:13 into the game. Neither team got much going offensively early, and Trinity led, 8-6, seven minutes into the game before scoring 15 points in a row over the next seven-plus minutes. The Bantams led by 19 points with 4:29 on the clock after a three-pointer by junior guard Christian Porydzy (South Glastonbury, Conn.), but the Golden Knights scored twice in a row in the final 92 seconds to make it, 31-17, at halftime. Trinity held Clarkson to 21.9 percent shooting from the field (7-32) and 18.8 percent shooting from long range (3-16), while making half of their own shots (14-28) from the floor and outrebounding the Golden Knights, 26-14, in the opening 20 minutes. Trinity kept its lead in double digits for the entire second half, as Jordan scored 10 points and first-year guard Anthony Kelley (Springfield, Mass.) had all eight of his points after intermission.
Porydzy and Padmore joined Jorden in double figures in scoring with 12 and 10 points, respectively, while Padmore also dished three steals, made four steals, and blocked two shots. Trinity junior tri-captain Nick Seretta (Greenfield, Mass.) collected eight points and eight boards, while senior tri-captain Connor Merinder (Andover, Mass.) grabbed seven rebounds. Freshman guard Chris Hulbert (Clifton Park, N.Y.) paced Clarkson with 10 points, while senior guard Malaquias Canery (Lawrence, Mass.) added nine points off the bench. Senior forward Matt Hornak (Monroe, Conn.) notched eight points, three steals, and a team-high five rebounds, but Clarkson was outhustled on the glass, 50-30.