Hartford, Conn. – Senior guard Brian Ford (Bronx, N.Y.) scored a team-high 16 points, sinking three of four shots from three-point range and all seven of his foul shots, and added four rebounds to lead the Trinity College Bantams to a 66-61 win over the visiting Tufts University Jumbos in New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) men's basketball action this afternoon at Oosting Gym.  Trinity improves to 13-9 overall and 4-3 in the NESCAC with its third consecutive victory, while Tufts drops to 11-11 overall and 3-5 in the league with its second loss in a row.  Trinity has clinched its 11th consecutive appearance in the NESCAC Championship Tournament later this month.

Tufts used an early 7-0 run to take a 14-8 lead on a three-poiner by sophomore guard Alex Goldfarb (New York, N.Y.) at the 11:44 mark of the first half, and led by as many as 12 points in the opening stanza.  Ford hit his third three-pointer of the first half with 15 seconds on the clock to keep the halftime deficit below single digits at 30-23.  The Jumbos outboarded Trinity, 23-17, before the break and held the home team to seven field goals in 29 tries.  Ford led all first-half scorers with 12 points.

Trinity slowly crawled back into the game in the second half and finally tied at 54-54 with 2:24 left on a fastbreak layup and free throw by senior co-captain Jared Pimm (Chelmsford, Mass.), who drew a foul on the shot after making a strong move to the basket in transition.  Freshman Eric Dean (Gilford, N.H.) gave the Bantams the lead for good at 58-56 on two free throws after an offensive rebound at the one-minute mark, and Trinity drew an offensive foul on the ensuing Jumbo possession.  Dean, Pimm, and Ford combined to go 8-for-8 from the line in the final 36 seconds to preserve the victory.

Pimm joined Ford and two other Bantams in double figures in scoring with 14 points, including 12 in the second half, and added four assists, while senior co-captain forward Luke MacDougall (Baldwinsville, N.Y.) had 13 points and five rebounds, and Dean totaled 12 points and a team-high eight boards.  Tufts sophomore forward Scott Anderson (Sudbury, Mass.) led all scorers with 19 points, nailing three from long range, and added eight rebounds but fouled out of the game with over four minutes left.  Jumbo freshman guard Kwame Firempong (Inglewood, Calif.) added 14 points and eight assists, including a three-quarter court shot as time expired.