Hartford, Conn. – Freshman Taelon Martin (Springfield, Mass.) had a game-high 21 points and eight rebounds to lead the visiting University of St. Joseph Blue Jays to an 83-73 win over the Trinity College Bantams in men's basketball action this evening at Oosting Gymnasium. Trinity drops to 1-2 with the loss in its home opener, while the Blue Jays improve to 1-1. Trinity plays Morrisville State in the A.J. Buchanan Tournament at Manhattanville at 6 p.m. on Friday. St. Joseph visits Tufts on Saturday at 2 p.m.
Trinity shot the lights out in the first half, making 15 of 26 shots from the floor (57.7%) and half of its 14 tries from long range, but got cold in the second stanza with shooting percentages of 27.8 percent from the field and 22.2 percent from three-point range. The Bantams hurt themselves from the free throw line all game with 10 misses in 22 attempts, and committed 21 turnovers. Trinity first-year guard Steven Lora (North Providence, R.I.) had 15 points at the break, leading the home team to a 44-39 lead.
The Bantams trailed, 11-10, five minutes into the game after a jumper by sophomore guard Delshawn Jackson (Hartford, Conn.), but back-to-back three-pointers by senior guard Christian Porydzy (South Glastonbury, Conn.) and Lora and a Lora free throw made it, 17-11, at the 12:21 mark. St. Joseph went back ahead, 20-19, on another Jackson jumper with 9:49 on the clock, but Trinity scored 13 of the next 15 points including six on two more Porydzy treys to go ahead, 32-22, with just under eight minutes left in the first half. The Blue Jays chipped away and took a 35-32 lead on a Martin steal and dunk with 4:25 on the clock. The Bantams closed the half with a 7-2 run.
The home team held a 53-46 advantage three minutes into the second frame, but yielded six points in a row over the next two minutes. The Blue Jays tied it at 56-all on another Jackson jumper with 12:56 on the clock, and eventually built a double-digit advantage with 5:33 to play on a Jackson layup. The Blue Jays shot 21 free throws in the second half and finished 25-for-32 (78.1%) for the game.
Lora paced Trinity with 18 points off the bench, while Porydzy finished with 13 points. Bantam junior forward Donald Jorden (Tampa, Fla.) collected 13 points, a game-high 14 rebounds, and three blocks, while classmate Colin Donovan (Westborough, Mass.) had 10 points, and senior co-captain Kyle Padmore (Milton, Mass.) totaled eight points and four assists. Jackson scored 20 points, while sophomore Ryan O'Neil (Litchfield, Conn.) added 19 points for the Blue Jays.