Medford, Mass. – Freshman Tyler Rhoten (Ridgewood, N.J.) scored 39 points, including 26 in the first half, as the visiting Trinity College Bantams cruised to a 97-77 victory over the Tufts University Jumbos in NESCAC men’s basketball action on Saturday afternoon.
Rhoten connected on 18 of 34 shots to lead Trinity to a 42 for 78 shooting performance overall (53.8 percent). He added nine rebounds with two assists and two steals as the Bantams improved to 12-6 overall and 4-2 in NESCAC. Tufts was led by 26 points from senior guard Mike McGlynn (Medford, Mass.). The Jumbos dropped to 9-9 overall and 3-2 in the league.
Rhoten hit four straight shots early in the first half to help Trinity take a 19-12 lead at the 13:34 mark. After leading for the game’s first five minutes, Tufts’ last lead was 20-19 on a three-pointer by senior co-captain Brian Shapiro (Swampscott, Mass.) with 12:14 to play in the half. The hosts kept it close for a bit, but the Bantams opened a 13-point lead (42-29) with a 15-4 run that culminated with a three-pointer by junior guard Shaun Smith (Manchester, Conn.) at 5:04 of the first half. Rhoten (8 points) and Smith (7) scored all of the Bantams’ points during the stretch.
Trinity scored 54 points in the first half to lead by 11. Trinity’s Smith and Tufts’ McGlynn and Shapiro all had 11 points at the break, but Rhoten was on pace to set the Trinity scoring record with his 26. He was 12 for 21 from the field in the first 20 minutes.
The Trinity lead stayed in double-digits the rest of the way. Tufts got as close as 10 points twice early in the second half, but a Bantam 7-0 spurt led by five points from Rhoten gave the visitors a 17-point lead, 65-48, with 14:57 to play. The margin reached a high of 22 points on a lay up by sophomore Aaron Goldstein (Edina, Minn.) at 8:39.
Smith finished with 19 points and four steals, while senior tri-captain Corey Days (Baltimore, Md.) added 12 points and six rebounds to the Trinity attack. Sophomore point guard Jesse Farrell (Minneapolis, Minn.) had 10 assists.
McGlynn was 10 for 10 at the free throw line for Tufts and had three steals. Shapiro posted 13 points and sophomore forward Reggie Stovell (Washington, D.C.) had a double-double with 12 points and 13 rebounds.
| Teams | 1st | 2nd | OT | Final |
| Trinity, Conn. (12-6) | 54 | 43 | -- | 97 |
| Tufts (9-9) | 43 | 34 | -- | 77 |
SCORING
TC- Tyler Rhoten 18-34 3-4 39, Shaun Smyth 8-12 (1) 2-2 19, Corey Days 5-7 2-3
12, Darren Baker 4-6 (2) 0-0 10, Ryan Uszenski 3-9 (1) 0-0 7, John Halas 2-6 0-0
4, Jesse Farrell 1-2 2-3 4, Aaron Goldstein 1-2 0-0 2, Kevin Reed 0-0 0-0 0.
Totals: 42-78 (4) 9-12 97.
TU- Mike McGlynn 7-18 (2) 10-10 26, Brian Shapiro 3-8 (3) 4-4 13, Reggie
Stovell 5-8 (1) 1-2 12, Jim Wilson 3-7 1-2 7, Deyvehn East 1-5 3-4 5, Blaine Lay
2-4 1-2 5, Craig Coupe 2-7 0-2 4, Colin Wetherill 1-1 0-0 2, Bisi Ezeolu 1-1 0-0
2, Eric Mack 0-0 1-2 1, Andrew Kaklamanos 0-3 0-0 0, Scott Armstrong 0-0 0-0 0.
Totals: 25-62 (6) 21-28 77.