Hartford, Conn. – Junior forward Donald Jorden (Tampa, Fla.) had 18 points, 14 rebounds, and a pair of blocks to lead the Trinity College Bantams to a 96-72 victory over the visiting Regis College Pride in the first round of the Trinity Holiday Men's Basketball Invitational this evening at Oosting Gymnasium. Trinity improves to 7-4 with its third win in a row and will play in the championship game tomorrow at 2 p.m. against Eastern Connecticut. Regis, now 1-7 after its fourth-straight setback, will play in tomorrow's consolation game versus No. 12-ranked Babson at noon. Babson lost its first game, 77-76, to Eastern Connecticut in the nightcap.
The Bantams opened up an 12-4 lead, including six on a pair of triples by senior guard Christian Porydzy (South Glastonbury, Conn.). Regis freshman Cam Wilkins (Taunton, Mass.) converted on a traditional three-point play to cut the Pride deficit to 12-8 moments later, but the Bantams turned over the visitors three times in a row and took a 19-8 lead on a trey by rookie Charles Redd (Peekskill, N.Y.) with 12:38 on the clock. The Bantams used a 10-2 run, including five points by Jorden, to make it, 32-16, with just under six minutes left in the first half, and closed the opening stanza with two more Jorden buckets and a steal and last-second jumper by senior guard Joseph Bell (Manchester, N.H.) as time expired for a 45-28 halftime advantage.
The second half opened up slower than the first, with each side exchanging blows on the free throw line through the opening three minutes. Trinity's offense was jump-started by junior Colin Donovan (Westborough, Mass.), whose deep three-pointer was followed by a drive to the basket ignited a 14-0 run that pushed the Bantam lead to 64-37 on a dunk by senior co-captain Kyle Padmore (Milton, Mass.) at the 14-minute mark. The home team cruised the rest of the way with at least a 20-point cushion.
Trinity shot 54.9 percent from the floor (39-71) and made 11 three-pointers, but the teams combined for a 40 percent shooting percentage (14-40) from the foul line. Jorden connected on eight of his 10 shot attempts to account for his game-high 18 points, while Padmore totaled 11 points, six rebounds, and 10 assists. Bantam senior center Jadakis Brooks (Elmira, N.Y.) came off the bench to add 15 points and seven boards, while Porydzy finished with 14 points and four assists, and Donovan notched nine points and five dimes. Wilkins paced the Pride with 15 points, while junior forward Juvens Dalger (Oakland Park, Fla.) added 14 points and a team-high 12 rebounds.