Jarrel Okorougo, center, and Drew Lazarre combined for 26 rebounds and 22 points as the Trinity Bantams wore down conference rival Wesleyan. Photo by Doug Sasse, d3photography.com | More photos from this game

By Ryan Scott
D3hoops.com

FORT WAYNE – The NESCAC representative in the Division III men’s basketball national championship game will be wearing blue and yellow, after Trinity held off a late Wesleyan run to defeat its conference foe and archrival 73-69 in Thursday’s first national semifinal.

The Bantams (29-3) await the winner of the second semifinal, between UAA conference foes NYU and WashU.

Trinity, making their second consecutive appearance in the Final Four, was led by Drew Lazarre’s 11 points and 12 rebounds, and 15 and 10 from Jarrel Okorougo; Henry Vetter also scored 15.

“The nerves and the preparation, it’s all a little different when you’ve been here before,” noted Will Dorion after the win. “We’re also a bit hungrier.  The first time you’re here you’re a little shell shocked by the environment, by the gym size.  We knew we had a job to do.”

Okorougo added, “We talked about how the tougher, stronger team is going to win at the end of the day.  We tried to come out and play as hard as we can, as strong as we can.”

It was one of the smallest and quietest crowds since the Division III championships have come to Fort Wayne, Indiana, the on-court chatter easily heard from press row,  but that had no bearing on the intensity of the game. Two experienced, well-coached teams, very familiar with each other, attempting to execute a game plan the opponent likely knew just as well.

As in their previous two meetings, the game went back and forth, with Trinity, as usual, bringing in a full second five to change up the pace, and Wesleyan’s star senior guards, Shane Regan and Nicky Johnson, keeping the Cardinals close when Trinity threatened to run away.

The halftime score, Trinity 33, Wesleyan 31, gradually, but steadily became a double digit lead for the Bantams with 14:40 to go.  Through most of the second half, Wesleyan scored well enough to prevent a blowout, but not enough to make a dent in the deficit.

Coming out of the under-4 media timeout, Wesleyan forced a bad shot from Trinity leading to a huge Johnson three to cut the deficit to five.  Regan followed with a mid-range jumper and Wesleyan seemed to have life, down just three with 2:14 to play.

Trinity’s depth, intensity, and physicality made the game difficult.  Two quick Cardinal fouls under the basket put Trinity into the bonus and they won the free throw battle from there.

The Bantams had an extra gear in the second half, fostered by memories of falling short a year ago.  “We understood the last 20 minutes is all we had guaranteed,” said Dorion.  Vetter added, “Part of me thought about how it felt last year sitting in that [same] locker room last year never wanting to go through that feeling again.”

Johnson put in a valiant effort for Wesleyan, playing the first 38 minutes without a break, before head coach Joe Reilly started subbing him out on defense to avoid a fifth foul.  He finished with 19 points, eight rebounds, and just one turnover; Regan had 17.

Regan wrapped up the season for Wesleyan. “Last year we were a 13-12 team and we came back with essentially the same personnel. I’m unbelievably proud of the season we had. It was unbelievable the amount of work we put in from top to bottom.  We’re disappointed, but we’re super grateful to get this experience.”

Wesleyan finishes 30-2, with its only losses coming at the hands of Trinity.