Williamstown, Mass. - The visiting Trinity College Bantams came up just short in an 88-77 loss to the Williams College Ephs in the New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) Men's Basketball Championship Quarterfinals.  Trinity ends the year at 17-8, while the No. 19-ranked Ephs improve to 20-5 and will face Amherst in the NESCAC Semifinals next Saturday at Hamilton College.  Bantam junior guard Joe Bell (Manchester, N.H.) came off the bench to score a team-high 17 points.

Trinity came out strong and led, 8-1, after an offensive rebound, put-back, and free throw by junior Kyle Padmore (Milton, Mass.) less than three minutes into the game.  Williams fought back and took a 21-20 lead on a layup by senior Bob Casey at the 11:19 mark.  The game remained close for the next several minutes before Eph forward Mat Karpowicz capped off an 11-0 run that turned a 25-24 deficit into a 36-27 lead for the home team with 2:53 left before the break.  Bantam sophomore Colin Donovan (Westborough, Mass) scored off an offensive rebound to cut Trinity's deficit to 40-34 at halftime.  Karpowicz led all scorers with 15 first-half points.

Williams took its largest lead of the game at 47-34 on a drive by Henry Feinberg four minutes into the second stanza, but the Bantams battled all the way back and tied the game at 59-all on a three-pointer by junior guard Joe Bell (Manchester, N.H.) at the 9:29 mark.  Bell drilled another long ball moments later to put Trinity up by three, and the game was back-and-forth for the next five minutes.  Casey gave Williams the lead for good on a free throw to make the score, 70-69, with 4:02 on the clock. 

Trinity sophomore forward Donald Jorden (Tampa, Fla.) was called for an offensive foul on the next Bantam possession, and Casey made back-to-back layups to extend the Eph lead to 74-69 with 2:35 left to play.  Bantam junior guard Christian Porydzy (South Glastonbury, Conn.) hit a clutch three to pull the Bantams back within three at 77-74, but the Ephs made 11 of 12 free throws down the stretch while the Bantams missed four of five three-point attempts in the final 30 seconds.

Jorden, junior tri-captain Nick Seretta (Greenfield, Mass.), and Donovan joined Bell in double figures in scoring for Trinity with 12, 11, and, 10 points, respectively, while Jorden added a game-high 11 rebounds and a pair of blocks.  Scadlock led the Ephs with 20 points and six rebounds. Karpowicz added 19 points, nine rebounds, and five assists, while Casey also scored 19 points.  Williams shot 58 percent from the field (29-50) but just 61.9 percent from the line on 42 attempts (26-42).  Trinity outrebounded Williams, 41-33, but was whistled for 29 fouls to just 15 for the home squad.  Four Bantam starters fouled out of the game.