HARTFORD, Conn. – After nearly a month off from competition, the Plattsburgh State men's basketball team was unable to keep pace with a hot-shooting Trinity (Conn.) College team in non-conference action on Tuesday evening at Oosting Gymnasium, as the Bantams shot 73.3 percent (11-of-15) from the floor in a 107-80 victory over the Cardinals.
 
Trinity knocked down 77.8 percent (7-of-9) of its shots from long range in the first half to build a 58-40 halftime lead. The Bantams continued their efficiency in the second stanza, going 4-of-6 (66.7 percent) from beyond the arc and 68.8 percent (22-of-32) from the floor to pull out the win.
 
Plattsburgh State falls to 6-4 overall with the loss and looks to right the ship on Friday, Jan. 6, when it resumes State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) play with a 5:30 p.m. encounter against Fredonia at Memorial Hall. Trinity rises to 7-5 overall with the win and next hosts Pine Manor College on Friday, Jan. 6, at 3 p.m.
 
The Bantams led from wire to wire, scoring the first six points of the game and jumping out to a 29-14 lead. The two teams battled back and forth until Plattsburgh State went on a 6-0 surge, and a made jumper by junior guard Eric Mack (Roosevelt, N.Y./Baldwin) trimmed the gap to 36-29. Trinity kept pressing the issue offensively while coming up with defensive stops, though, ballooning its advantage as high as 20 points late in the first half.
 
The Cardinals were unable to draw any closer than 17 points in the second stanza, though freshman guard Nick DeAngelis (West Milford, N.J./West Milford) netted all of his team- and career-high 16 points in reserve action in the period.
 
Plattsburgh State shot 45.1 percent (23-of-51) from the floor on the evening, including a 50 percent (10-of-20) mark from distance. Trinity won the rebounding battle by a 27-24 margin and forced the Cardinals into 23 turnovers, scoring 33 points off those giveaways. Plattsburgh State did a good job of getting to the free-throw line, knocking down 24 of its 36 attempts from the charity stripe.
 
DeAngelis was one of the Cardinals' biggest bright spots in the game, tallying his 16 points on 4-of-5 shooting from the floor, 4-of-4 shooting from 3-point distance and 4-of-7 shooting from the line. Mack and sophomore guard Brandon Johnson (Greenburgh, N.Y./Woodlands) also reached double figures, scoring 15 and 12 points, respectively, with Johnson's total coming in 20 minutes off the bench.
 
Senior forward/guard Chris Turnbull buried a game-high 21 points for Trinity, 19 of which came in the opening period. Freshman guard Nick Seretta and senior center/forward Ed Ogundeko each registered 19 points, while sophomore guard Paul Colson and sophomore forward/center Judah Woney scored 13 and 10 points, respectively, coming off the bench. Senior guard Langdon Neal kept the Bantam offense moving with 12 assists.