Friday, Jan. 19, 2001

TRINITY MEN’S BASKETBALL OPENS NESCAC SEASON WITH WIN OVER MIDDLEBURY

Hartford, Conn. - Junior forward Brian Dion (East Haven, Conn.) scored a team-high 20 points and grabbed eight rebounds to lead the Trinity College Bantams to an 76-69 win over the visiting Middlebury College Panthers in the New England Small College Athletic Conference men’s basketball opener for both teams. Trinity, which wins its third game in a row, improves to 9-2 and 1-0 in the NESCAC. Middlebury falls to 7-6 and 0-1 in the league with its third consecutive loss.

Middlebury got off a to a quick start and took a 23-10 lead with 12:37 remaining in the first half on a lay-up by senior forward Zach Bourque (Townsend, Mass.). Trinity fought its way back and cut the lead to eight points at 36-28 at the half. Dion scored 10 of Trinity’s final 18 points of the first half.

The Panthers shot 54 percent from the field and 56 percent from three-point range in the first half. In the second stanza, Trinity returned the favor and made 57 percent of their shots from the field, outscoring the Panthers, 48-33, in the half. The Trinity defense held Middlebury to 34 percent field goal shooting, led by senior center Julian Bah (Concord, Mass.) who came off the bench and blocked four shots in the half.

Trinity junior forward Colin Tabb (Somers, Conn.) had 19 points and six rebounds, and sophomore forward Ryan Uszenski (Woodbridge, N.J.) came off the bench to score 12 points and notch four steals.

Senior center Keith Watts (Schenectady, N.Y.) paced the Panthers with 21 points, sinking nine out of 15 field goal attempts. Senior forward Andrew Shogan (Lafayette, Calif.) had 15 points, while senior guard Chris McLaughlin (Ramsey, N.J.) totaled 12 points and five assists and senior guard Jon Cormier (Trumbull, Conn.) added 11 points and nine assists for Middlebury.

Middlebury (7-6) 36 33 -- 69

Trinity, Conn. (9-2) 28 48 -- 76

SCORING

M- Keith Watts 9-15 (2) 1-1 21, Andrew Shogan 5-12 (4) 1-3 15, Chris McLaughlin 4-9 (2) 2-2 12, Jon Cormier 3-8 (2) 3-3 11, John Barrett 2-6 (1) 0-0 5, Zach Bourque 2-4 1-2 5, Koby Altman 0-0 0-0 0, Paul Krezanoski 0-3 0-0 0, John Donnelly 0-0 0-0 0, Eric Bundonis 0-0 0-0 0.

Totals: 25-57 (11) 8-11 69.

TC- Brian Dion 8-10 4-6 20, Colin Tabb 8-19 (1) 2-3 19, Ryan Uszenski 5-9 2-4 12, Scott Wallach 3-7 (1) 0-0 7, Mike Keohane 2-4 (1) 2-2 7, Matt Jones 0-1 5-6 5, Julian Bah 2-2 0-2 4, Jarod Greene 0-1 2-2 2, Michael LaBella 0-3 0-0 0, Rick Hein 0-0 0-0 0.

Totals: 28-56 (3) 17-25 76.