Hartford, Conn. – Junior swingman Kyle Padmore (Milton, Mass.) had 18 points, seven rebounds, five assists, and three steals to lead the Trinity College Bantams to a 76-73 win over the visiting Bates College Bobcats in New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) men's basketball action this evening at Oosting Gymnasium. Trinity improves to 16-7 overall and 5-4 in the NESCAC with its third victory in a row, while the Bobcats drop to 7-16 overall and are eliminated from post-season contention with a final record of 3-7 in the league. Trinity hosts NESCAC rival Tufts in its final regular season game on Sunday at 2 p.m.
Leading at halftime, 38-36, Trinity built a 59-50 advantage midway through the second half on a Padmore three-pointer and led, 69-59, with 5:25 remaining on a pair of free throws by sophomore forward Donald Jorden (Tampa, Fla.). The Bobcats pulled to within a bucket at 72-70 at the 2:08 mark on two free throws by senior center Nick Lynch (Westford, Mass.).
Padmore and Jorden made one of two from the foul line each in the final two minutes, but Bobcat junior guard Nick Gilpin (Hampden, Maine) drove the lane for an old-fashioned three-point play with 24 seconds remaining to make the score, 74-73, in Trinity's favor. Bantam junior guard Christian Porydzy (South Glastonbury, Conn.) sank a pair of from the charity stripe to make it a three-point game, before both teams turned the ball over and Bates junior guard Jeff Spellman (Boston, Mass.) missed a last-second attempt to tie from deep.
The first half was close throughout, as the Bantams held the largest lead at 26-20 at the 11:15 mark on a three-pointer by junior guard Joe Bell (Manchester, N.H.). Junior guard Tom Coyne (Falmouth, Maine) carried the Bates offense in the first half with 13 points, including a jumper with five seconds on the clock to make it a two-point game at the break. Bell and Padmore had eight points each for Trinity at halftime.
Trinity dominated the boards with a 39-to-25 edge and made 13 three-pointers against the Bates zone defense but was just 11-for-19 from the foul line and committed 20 turnovers. Jorden, Porydzy, and Bell joined Padmore in double figures for Trinity with 14, 11, and 10 points, respectively, while Jorden also had a game-high 12 rebounds. Lynch paced Bates with 20 points to go with five boards, while Spellman scored 14 of his 19 points in the second half, and Coyne did not score in the second half but dished a game-high eight assists.