Bantams move to 4-1 in the NESCAC

Hartford, Conn. - Junior forward Colin Tabb (Somers, Conn.) scored a team-high 27 points with 10 assists and six rebounds to lead the Trinity College Bantams to a 78-74 win over the visiting Amherst College Lord Jeffs in New England Small College Athletic Conference men’s basketball action this afternoon.

Trinity, which wins its third game in a row, improves to 14-3 and 4-1 in the NESCAC. Amherst, ranked No. 4 in the NCAA Division III Northeast Poll, falls to 13-4 and 3-2 in the league with its second loss in three days.

After the Bantams pulled out to an early 15-10 lead, Amherst went on a 23-10 run which included nine points by sophomore forward Steve Zieja (Hadley, Mass.) to take a 38-23 with 6:08 left in the first half.

The Jeffs led, 44-35 at the half, but Trinity opened the second stanza with a 10-2 run that cut the lead to one at 46-45. Trinity junior forward Brian Dion (East Haven, Conn.) scored six points during the run. Amherst went back ahead, 48-45, on a lay-up by sophomore center Pat Fitzsimmons (Durham, N.C.), but Trinity outscored the Jeffs, 18-8, over the next eight minutes to take a 65-56 lead with 9:40 to play in the game.

The Jeffs battled back and tied the score at 74-74 on a reverse lay-up by freshman guard Ryan Faulkner (Lebanon, N.H.), but Tabb made a lay-up and senior guard Mike Keohane (Belmont, Mass.) hit a pair of free throws to ice it for the Bantams. Trinity held Amherst to 33 percent field goal shooting in the second half, after the Jeffs had made 57 percent of their shots and seven out nine three-point attempts in the first half.

Tabb made eight out of 13 shots from the field, three out of four three-point attempts, and all eight of his free throws. Dion scored 15 points and grabbed five rebounds and senior center Julian Bah (Concord, Mass.) had 17 points, six rebounds, and four blocks for Trinity. Tabb, Dion, and Bah, which make up Trinity’s starting frontcourt, combined for 32 of the Bantams 43 points in the second half.

Zieja led all scorers with 31 points, sinking 11 of 15 field goal attempts, and added seven boards. Senior guard Brian Daoust (Dover, Mass.) and Fitzsimmons each had 11 points for the Lord Jeffs.

Amherst (13-4)        44 30 -- 74
Trinity, Conn. (14-3) 35 43 -- 78

SCORING

A- Steve Zieja 11-15 (4) 5-8 31, Brian Daoust 4-12 (3) 0-0 11, Patrcik Fitzsimmons 5-7 1-2 11, Adam Harper 3-7 (1) 2-3 9, John Donovan 2-5 (1) 1-2 6, Ryan Faulkner 1-5 2-2 4, Adam Sexson 1-5 0-0 2, Erik Kelly 0-2 0-0 0, Christian Keane 0-2 0-0 0.
Totals: 27-60 (9) 11-17 74.

TC- Colin Tabb 8-13 (3) 8-8 27, Julian Bah 8-14 1-3 17, Bryan Dion 6-9 3-5 15, Mike Keohane 2-10 2-2 6, Michael LaBella 2-6 (1) 0-0 5, Ryan Uszenski 2-6 0-0 4, Scott Wallach 1-2 2-4 4, Matt Jones 0-0 0-0 0, Rick Hein 0-1 0-0 0.
Totals: 29-61 (4) 16-22 78.