Hartford, Conn. - Senior tri-captain forward Luke MacDougall (Baldwinsville, N.Y.) scored a game-high 21 points, making eight of 12 shots from the field and three of four from long range, and added four rebounds to lead the Trinity College Bantams to a 77-58 win over the visiting United States Merchant Marine Academy Mariners in men's basketball action this afternoon at Oosting Gymnasium.  Trinity, which had not played in 21 days, improves to 6-4 with its first win in three games, while the Mariners fall to 4-4 with their first defeat in three games after a 20-day layoff. 

After falling behind, 11-5, in the first five minutes, Trinity burst ahead with seven straight points and took a 12-11 lead on a pair of free throws by freshman forward Eric Dean (Gilford, N.H.) midway through the first half before extending its advantage to double figures at 30-19 on a three-pointer by MacDougall late in the first half.  MacDougall had 11 points in the first 20 minutes and the Bantams forced nine turnovers and committed none to lead, 32-23, at the break.  Trinity pushed its lead up to as many as 23 points at 54-31 on a MacDougall drive with 11:32 remaining in the game, and led by no less than 13 points after that.

The Bantams finished with a 38-31 edge on the glass and a 14-5 advantage in turnovers in the game, while shooting 53.6 percent from the field (15-28), 53.8 percent from three-point land (7-13), and 80 percent from the foul line (8-10) in the second half.  Senior guard Brian Ford (Bronx, N.Y.) nailed three of six tries from long range for nine of his 13 points, while Dean enjoyed a fine collegiate debut after an early-season injury with 13 points and five boards off the bench for the Bantams.  Trinity junior center Chris Applegate (High Point, N.C.) grabbed seven rebounds, and sophomore guard Cameron Sutton (Queens, N.Y.) dished five assist.  Senior tri-captain guard Tom Izzo (Bridgeport, W.V.) paced the Mariners with 11 points, while senior tri-captain forward Matt Hueber (Alexandria, Va.) notched nine points, a game-high eight boards, and four assists.