Hartford, Conn. – Junior swingman Kyle Padmore (Milton, Mass.) had 20 points, seven rebounds, and four blocked shots to lead the Trinity College Bantams to a 66-56 win over the visiting Bowdoin College Polar Bears in New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) men's basketball action this evening at Oosting Gymnasium.  Trinity improves to 10-5 and earns its first NESCAC win against two losses last week with its sixth consecutive win over Bowdoin.  The Polar Bears fall to 8-5 overall and 1-2 in the league.  Trinity hosts NESCAC rival Colby on Sunday, January 13 at 2 p.m. in its next game and Bowdoin visits St. Joseph's (Maine) on Tue., January 15 at 8 p.m.

Trinity opened the game with a 7-0 run and held Bowdoin scoreless for the first 4:51 until a three-pointer by senior tri-captain guard Jack Bors (Upper Saddle River, N.J.).  The Polar Bears used a 17-3 run to go ahead, 20-15, on a jumper by sophomore guard Zavier Rucker (Woodbury, Conn.), but Trinity answered with a 12-0 spurt to close the first half ahead, 27-20.  The Bantam defense held Bowdoin to 29.2 percent shooting from the floor and forced 11 turnovers in the opening stanza, while Padmore led all scorers with 10 points.

Trinity dominated play for the first 10 minutes of the second half, building a 53-32 advantage at the 9:54 mark after a fastbreak layup by junior guard Joe Bell (Manchester, N.H.).  The visitors chipped away, due in large part to a frenzied full-court press, and cut their deficit to six points at 62-56 on a layup by senior tri-captain forward Jack Simonds (Falmouth, Maine) with 2:03 on the clock. Neither team made a field goal the rest of the way, however, and both Padmore and Bantam rookie guard Anthony Kelley (Springfield, Mass.) made two free throws in the final two minutes.

Padmore was stellar at both ends of the floor, making eight of his 12 shots from the floor and holding Simonds, the reigning NESCAC Player of the Week, to just five points while guarding him for the majority of the game.  Trinity sophomore forward Donald Jorden (Tampa, Fla.) added 13 points and 10 boards, while senior tri-captain forward Connor Merinder (Andover, Mass.) grabbed nine rebounds, and Kelley dished five assists.  Rucker paced Bowdoin with 14 points, while senior tri-captain center Hugh O'Neil (Lexington, Mass.) pulled down 10 boards, and Simonds added eight rebounds.