Trinity Men's Basketball Races Past Connecticut College

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Hartford, Conn. – The Trinity College Bantams shot 53.3 percent from the field (32-60) and 57.9 percent from three-point land (11-19) in a 98-66 men's basketball victory over the visiting Connecticut College Camels in New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) action this afternoon at Oosting Gymnasium. Trinity ups its record to 13-9 overall and 5-4 in the NESCAC with its second win in as many days, while the Camels drop to 9-11 overall and 2-6 in the conference with their second loss in two days.

Connecticut College senior co-captain guard Matt Vadas (West Chester, Pa.) opened the game with a three-pointer from the top of the key, and the Camels held a 7-5 lead thanks to seven Vadas points in the opening 1:18. Trinity sophomore forward Shay Ajayi (Brooklyn, N.Y.) drilled a three-pointer from the left wing in transition to give the Bantams their first lead, 8-7, with 18:34 on the clock, and the home team took control of the contest from there. After scoring 19 points in the first half of last night's 70-65 win against Wesleyan, Trinity has scored 149 points in its last 60 minutes of play including 55 in the opening stanza this afternoon. Trinity made nine of 14 shots from long range and 10 of 11 from the foul line before the break for a 55-36 lead, as Ajayi led the way with 16 points and freshman Chris Turnbull (Ridgewood, N.J.) added 11 off the bench.

Trinity cooled down somewhat in the second half but still shot over 50 percent from the floor (14-26), and the Bantams finished the game with a 39-25 advantage on the glass. The Trinity defense held Connecticut College to 33.3 percent field goal shooting and 20 percent shooting from three-point range (5-20), although the Camels made 27 off 33 shots (81.8%) from the charity stripe. Ajayi finished with 18 points, while Turnbull scored 17, sophomore Rick Naylor (Sudbury, Vt.) added 14, and junior forward Alex Conaway (New Haven, Conn.) scored 11. Ajayi also had a game-high 10 rebounds and three assists, while rookie forward Ed Ogundeko (Brooklyn, N.Y.) contributed eight points, nine boards, and three blocks, and sophomore guard Jaquann Starks (Hartford, Conn.) added six points, five rebounds, and a game-high five assists. Senior forward Mason Lopez (Hoboken, N.J.) was the top Camel scorer with 18 points, while Vadas scored 16 points, and freshman forward Zuri Pavlin (New York, N.Y.) notched seven points and a team-high seven boards.