Hartford, Conn. – Sophomore guard Christian Porydzy (South Glastonbury, Conn.) scored 23 of his game-high 29 points in the second half, hitting seven of nine shots from three-point range and all eight of his free throws, to lead the Trinity College Bantams to an 86-73 win over the visiting Keene State College Owls in men's basketball action this evening at Oosting Gymnasium.  Trinity improves to 9-2 with its fifth victory in a row, as the Bantams open New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) play on Friday at 7 p.m. against Amherst College.  The Owls fall to 8-4 with their second consecutive setback. 

Trinity jumped out to a 10-2 lead early, as Bantam junior Jeremy Arthur (Westbury, N.Y.) scored eight of the game's first 12 points.  The Owls fought their way back, tying the game at 17-all on a pair of free throws by junior Ty Nichols (Springfield, Mass.) with 7:37 left in the first half, and the visitor led, 31-28, with 3:22 remaining before the break on two more Nichols foul shots.  Porydzy drained a three-pointer and junior forward Connor Merinder (Andover, Mass.) added a pair of free throws to give Trinity back the lead, 33-31, heading into halftime.

Trinity poured in 53 points in the second stanza, shooting 60 percent from the field (15-25), 55.6 percent from long range (5-9), and 81.8 percent from the charity stripe (18-22).  After a bucket inside by Owl rookie center James Anozie (Poughkeepsie, N.Y.), Trinity scored the next 10 points to go ahead, 43-33, with 17:35 on the clock.  Porydzy had six of the 10 and sophomore Kyle Padmore (Milton, Mass.) scored the other four points.  Keene State whittled its deficit down to five twice over the next five minutes, but the Bantams went back ahead by double digits at 56-46 on a drive by senior co-captain Eric Gendron (Merrimack, N.H.) and led by at least eight points the rest of the way.

Trinity's perimeter defense held the Owls to just 3-for-18 shooting from three-point range, and the Owls hurt themselves at the foul line with eight misses in 22 attempts.  Arthur finished with 16 points and five rebounds, while Gendron scored 12 points to give Trinity three double-digit scorers.  Porydzy was also the top Bantam rebounder with six boards, as Trinity won despite a 39-to-27 deficit on the glass.  Nichols paced Keene State with 20 points, six rebounds, and four steals, while Anozie added 19 points and seven boards.  Owl senior guard Dizel Wright (Springfield, Mass.) and rookie guard Miguel Prieto (Providence, R.I.) scored 10 points apiece, and Wright added a game-high 10 boards.