Springfield, Mass. - Matt Cavalieri scored 19 points and pulled down eight rebounds to lead the Springfield College Pride men's basketball team to a 62-41 victory over the visiting Trinity College Bantams this evening at Blake Arena.  The Pride has now won five straight to raise its record to 5-3, while Trinity falls to 5-3.

Trinity was led by senior forward/center Luke MacDougall (Baldwinsville, N.Y.) with 14 points to go along with seven rebounds, as well as sophomore guard Cameron Sutton (Queens, N.Y.) with 10 points, five rebounds, and three assists.  Also scoring in double figures for Springfield were junior center Ryan Coburn (West Warwick, R.I.) with 13 points to go along with 11 rebounds and five blocks, as well as senior guard Darvis Rankins (Boston, Mass.) with 12 points.

The Bantams shot just .283 field goal percentage from the floor, but slightly better from 3-point range at .364. Springfield also did not shoot well for a half (.333), but that changed in the second half when the Pride made 14-of-26 from the field (.538), and finished with a .434 percentage for the game.  Springfield made just 11-of-22 (.500) from the charity stripe, while Trinity was limited to just seven opportunties from the line (making three) for the game. The rebounding battle was almost even, with Springfield gaining a slight edge, 40-39. The Bantams finished with 15 turnovers to Springfield's nine.

In the first half, there were three ties and the lead changed hands just twice. The Pride took a 5-0 lead, but Trinity came back to tie it at 5-5. The Bantams then took its one and only lead of the game at 15-14 with 9:23 left in the half on a lay-up by senior guard Brian Ford (Bronx, N.Y.). Freshman guard Kevin Lubin (Winnetka, Ill.) tied it at 18 apiece for Trinity with 4:47 to go on a 3-point shot.  Junior guard Pat Sturdahl (Exeter, R.I.), who played well off the bench (seven points) buried a three of his own for the home team, and Springfield led for good from the 4:26 point of the first half. In the second half, Trinity cut the margin to three at 31-28 on a 3-pointer by Ford with 15:43 left, but got no closer.