Hartford, Conn. - Sophomore forward Donald Jorden (Tampa, Fla.) had 16 points and eight rebounds to lead the Trinity College Bantams to a 71-56 victory over the Western New England University Golden Bears in the championship game of the Trinity Men's Basketball Holiday Invitational on Sunday afternoon in Oosting Gymnasium. The Bantams close out the calendar year at 9-3, winning six of their last seven games and capturing three different tournament titles, while Jorden and junior tri-captain Kyle Padmore (Milton, Mass.) represented the Bantams on the all-tournament team.  Junior tri-captain Tim Reilly (Poughkeepsie, N.Y.) had a game-high 20 points and graced the all-tournament squad for Western New England, which falls to 3-8.  The Farleigh Dickinson University-Florham Devils defeated the University of Southern Maine Huskies, 77-56, in today's consolation game.

Western New England scored the first bucket of the game before a 7-0 Bantam run forced Golden Bear Head Coach Colin Tabb, a former All-American for the Bantams, to call a timeout. The Bantams maintained the lead until an old-fashioned three-point play by rookie guard Antonio Brancato (Fairfield, Conn.) tied it at 13-13 with 13:37 to play in the first half. The teams traded buckets over the next five minutes, before Trinity responded used an 8-0 run to take its largest lead of the half, 31-23, on a Jorden layup with 5:48 on the clock. Rookie Anthony Kelley (Springfield, Mass.) nailed a triple with 1:48 left on the clock to re-open an eight point Trinity lead, but the Golden Bears pulled to within five to 41-36 at the half on a trey by Reilly who finished the first frame with 16 points.

The Bantams opened the second half on a 9-0 run before a bucket from Reilly ended a three-minute scoring drought for the Golden Bears. After a corner three from senior tri-captain Connor Merinder (Andover, Mass.), followed by a steal and layup by junior tri-captain Nick Seretta (Greenfield, Mass.), Trinity found itself ahead, 55-40 with 14:14 left to play. A layup by Jorden coupled with a three by sophomore Colin Donovan (Westborough, Mass.) and a free throw from Seretta gave Trinity its largest lead of the game, 61-40, with just over 12 minutes left to play.  A three-pointer from Zachary Tavitian (Milford, Conn.) capped a 9-0 run for the Golden Bears before Trinity called a timeout with 6:39 left on the clock.  The Bantams jumped ahead by 18 with less than three minutes left to play and cruised the rest of the way. 

Trinity shot 54.2 percent from the floor (26-48), 85.7 from the foul line (12-14), and outrebounded Western New England, 37-22.  Jorden made seven of eight shots from the field this afternoon and 13 of 18 in the tournament, while Seretta and junior guard Christian Porydzy (South Glastonbury, Conn.) joined Jorden in double figures in scoring with 11 points apiece.  Seretta also grabbed six rebounds, while Porydzy dished four assists.  Rookie guard Anthony Kelley (Springfield, Mass.) had a game-high seven assists and junior center Jadakis Brooks (Elmira, N.Y.) added eight points and five boards off the Trinity bench.  Brancato scored 14 of his 16 points before halftime and added four assists for the Golden Bears, while Tavitian paced the visitors on the glass with seven rebounds.

FDU led wire-to-wire and held the Huskies to just 29 percent shooting from the field in today's first game.  Sophomore guard Oliver Ortman (North Caldwell, N.J.) came off the bench to score a game-high 17 points, including five three-pointers, to lead FDU.  Three other Devils finished in double figures in scoring, as senior forward Darren Davy (West Hempstead, N.Y.) scored 16 points, junior guard Andy Flaurentin (West Orange, N.J.) had 15 points, and senior guard Anthony Mitchell (Red Bank, N.J.) scored 12 points.  Senior guard Christian McCue (Hampden, Maine) had 13 points and junior guard Jayvon Pitts-Young (Portland, Maine) scored 12 points for Southern Maine.  The Devils outrebounded the Huskies, 42-36, including a game-high 12 boards by senior forward Tyler Christie (Union Beach, N.J.).  Mitchell and Southern Maine senior tri-captain Grayson Waterman (Berwick, Maine) rounded out the all-tournament team.  FDU-Florham leaves Hartford with a 4-8 record, while the Huskies drop to 3-9.