Montclair, N.J.- Senior tri-captain swingman Ryan Uszenski (Woodbridge, N.J.) scored a team-high 23 points and grabbed eight rebounds to lead the Trinity College Bantams to a 79-71 win over the D’Youville College Spartans in the opening round of the Montclair State University Men’s Basketball Tip-Off Tournament at Panzer Gymnasium this evening.

Trinity, which reached the second round of the NCAA Division III Championship Tournament a year ago, improves to 1-0 and will meet the host Montclair State Red Hawks tomorrow at 4 p.m. in the tourney finals. The Spartans fall to 0-1 and will face Centenary (N.J.) in the consolation game at 2 p.m. tomorrow. The Red Hawks pounded Centenary, 94-54, in the other first round game.

After trailing, 34-33, at the half, the Bantams scored seven straight points to break a 39-39 tie with 15 minutes remaining in the game. Trinity extended its lead to as many as 12 points en route to its first season opening win since 1998.

Trinity sophomore guard John Halas (White Plains, N.Y.) joined Uszenski in double figures in scoring with 17 points, along with four steals, while senior co-captain center Corey Days (Baltimore, Md.) totaled 10 points and 10 boards. Freshman forward Tyler Rhoten (Ridgewood, N.J.) enjoyed a nice collegiate debut with 11 points and six rebounds off the bench, and sophomore guard Jesse Farrell (Minneapolis, Minn.) added seven assists for the Bantams. Sophomore guard Sanquin Starks (Niagara Falls, N.Y.) led all scorers with 24 points, including five three-pointers, for the Spartans.

^{SCORING
D-Sanquin Starks 9-18 (5) 1-4 24, James Hunt 5-10 (2) 6-11 18, Ian Morris 4-9 1-3 9, Justin Cooke 3-8 2-2 8, Rick Latham 2-5 (1) 2-3 7, Scott Mueller 1-3 2-2 4, Chris Mays 0-1 1-2 1, Ali-Sharif Robinson 0-1 0-0 0, Jason Gelsomino 0-0 0-0 0, Ross King 0-0 0-0 0.
Totals: 24-55 (8) 15-27 71.
TC- Ryan Uszenski 7-16 (2) 7-11 23, John Halas 5-15 (3) 4-5 17, Tyler Rhoten 4-7 3-4 11, Corey Days 3-5 4-6 10, Darren Baker 3-7 2-3 8, Kevin Reed 1-1 0-0 2, Shaun Smyth 1-2 0-0 2, Ben Max 0-1 0-0 0.
Totals: 26-57 (5) 22-36 79.}