Amherst, MA - Trinity College senior swingman Colin Tabb (Somers, Conn.) drained a three-pointer with three seconds left in the third overtime en route to a team-high 34 points as the visiting Trinity College Bantams edged the Amherst

College Lord Jeffs, 110-107, in a marathon New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) men's basketball thriller this afternoon at LeFrak Gymnasium. Trinity improves to 13-4 overall and 4-1 in the NESCAC, while the Jeff drop to 13-5 overall and 2-3 in the league with their first loss in the last four games.

Tabb was hot right from the opening tip, scoring Trinity's first 10 points on 4-for-4 shooting, including consecutive three-pointers 2:53 into the contest. Trailing 23-12, the Jeffs mounted a 16-2 run to overtake the Bantams. Amherst freshman forward Andrew Schiel (Abbington, Pa.) capped the barrage with a nifty over-the-shoulder lay-in and a long-range trifecta as part of his career-high 22 points, giving the Jeffs a 28-25 lead with 8:03 left before the break.

Four more lead changes ensued before halftime, and Schiel hit yet another three-pointer to give Amherst its largest lead of the period, 42-38, with 2:32 remaining. The two teams then traded buckets over the next two minutes before Trinity senior forward Bryan Dion (East Haven, Conn.) knotted the score at 44-44 with a three-point play, and Tabb put the Bantams ahead with a free throw with 20 seconds left. Jeff sophomore guard John Donovan (Holmdel, N.J.) nailed a mid-range floater to give the Jeffs a 46-45 lead at the break.

The second half followed suit as a bevy of ties and lead changes set the stage for a dramatic game-tying three-pointer by Trinity rookie guard John Halas (White Plains, N.Y.). After Amherst took a 78-75 lead on a layup by junior center Pat Fitzsimons (Durham, N.C.) with just 13 seconds left in regulation, Tabb tried to knot the score from behind the three-point arc but was stripped by Taverna. In the midst of a scrum Taverna was whistled for traveling, however, giving the Bantams one last chance to send the game into overtime. Halas responded with a bomb from the top of the arc with two seconds remaining to tie the score at 78-78.

Trinity came from behind once again in the first overtime when, trailing by two points with 34 seconds left, junior forward Ryan Uszenski (Woodbridge, N.J.) sent the game into a second extra session with a driving layup off a give-and-go feed from senior guard Matt Jones (Meriden, Conn.). It was Amherst's turn in double-overtime as junior forward Steve Zieja (Hadley, Mass.), who matched Tabb with 34 points in the game, drained a three-pointer from the right corner to knot the score at 95-95, sending the game into a third extra-session.

The third and final overtime wasn't without its heroics either as Halas put the Bantams up 107-104 with his third three-pointer of the game with 1:18 remaining. Zieja answered yet again with a three-pointer that hit the rim, then the backboard, and grazed the rim again before falling through to tie the score at 107-107 with 25 seconds left. After Tabb's three-pointer gave Trinity a seemingly insurmountable 110-107 lead with just three seconds on the clock, the Jeffs got a decent look before Zieja's desperation attempt narrowly missed its mark.

In all, nine players scored in double figures, including five for Trinity. Aside from Tabb's 34-point outburst, Dion chipped in with 24 points and 10 rebounds, while Uszenski, Halas, and freshman forward Darren Baker (Lakehurst, N.J.) added 19, 16 and 11 points respectively.

For Amherst, Fitzsimons joined Zieja and Schiel in double figures with 26 points and 17 rebounds, while Donovan finished with 13 points.

TC- Colin Tabb 11-21 (4) 8-11 34, Bryan Dion 9-20 (1) 5-7 24, Ryan Uszenski 8-14 (3) 0-0 19, John Halas 6-9 (3) 1-2 16, Darren Baker 5-12 1-1 11, Matt Jones 1-4 (1) 0-0 3, Rick Hein 1-3 0-0 2, Jesse Farrell 0-0 1-2 1, Jarod Greene 0-0 0-0 0.

Totals: 41-83 (12) 16-23 110.

A- Steve Zieja 13-19 (4) 4-6 34, Pat Fitzsimmons 9-12 8-9 26, Andrew Schiel 8-14 (4) 2-2 22, John Donovan 2-13 (1) 8-11 13, Adam Harper 2-6 (1) 0-0 5, John Kloepfer 1-4 (1) 0-0 3, Pat Taverna 1-6 1-2 3, Ryan Faulkner 0-3 1-2 1, Frank Perry 0-1 0-0 0, Ray Corrigan 0-0 0-1 0, Tim Jones 0-0 0-0 0.

Totals: 36-78 (11) 24-33 107.