Hartford, Conn. - Junior guard Michael Crotty (Belmont, Mass.) totaled 15 points and 14 assists to lead the visiting Williams College Ephs to an 87-72 win over the Trinity College Bantams in New England Small College Athletic Conference men’s basketball action this evening at Ray Oosting Gymnasium. The Bantams fall to 10-5 overall and 2-1 in the NESCAC while ending a four game winning streak. The Ephs, ranked No. 1 in New England and No. 3 in the nation, improve to 14-0 overall and 2-0 in the league.

The game was tied early at 11-11 when Williams scored seven straight points to take an 18-11 lead with 11:38 remaining in the first half on a lay-up by senior center Sumant Bhat (Hinsdale, Ill.). The Ephs built their advantage to 44-32 at the half, thanks to seven three-pointers in 13 attempts. Bantam senior tri-captain forward Ryan Uszenski (Woodbridge, N.J.) kept Trinity within striking distance with 10 first half points.

The Ephs extended their lead after intermission with a 14-3 run to open the second half, taking a 58-35 lead on a lay-up by senior forward Drew DeMuth (Carlisle, Pa.) five minutes into the second stanza. Trinity slowly battled back, finally pulling to within nine points on a lay-up by freshman forward Kevin Reed (Downsville, N.Y.) that made the score 76-67 with 4:20 on the clock. Williams scored the next nine points of the game to put the game out of reach.

Trinity freshman forward Tyler Rhoten (Ridgewood, N.J.) scored a team-high 16 points and grabbed five rebounds, while senior tri-captain forward Corey Days (Baltimore, Md.) tallied 12 points and five boards, and junior guard Shaun Smyth (Manchester, Conn.) contributed 12 points, making all three of his three-point shots, off the bench. Sophomore guard John Halas (White Plains, N.J.) joined Uszenski with 10 points and added six assists, and classmate Jesse Farrell (Minneapolis, Minn.) dished out nine assists for the Bantams.

Junior center Ben Coffin (Westford, Mass.) paced the Ephs with 16 points and added nine boards, while sophomore guard Jaris Cole (San Diego, Calif.) added 12 points and junior guard Chuck Abba (Delmar, N.Y) had 11 points and five assists. DeMuth pulled down a game-high 14 rebounds for the visitors.

^{W- Ben Coffin 7-13 2-3 16, Michael Crotty 4-10 (3) 4-5 15, Jaris Cole 5-8 (2) 0-0 12, Chuck Abba 4-12 (2) 1-3 11, Drew DeMuth 3-10 3-4 9, Tim Folan 3-8 (3) 0-0 9, Sumant Bhat 3-4 2-2 8, Michael Graham 3-4 (1) 0-0 7, Andy Campbell 0-1 0-0 0, Blake Morgan 0-1 0-0 0, Patrick Hederman 0-0 0-0 0, John Fitzgerald 0-0 0-0 0, Andrew Newton 0-1 0-0 0.
Totals: 32-72 (11) 12-17 87.}

^{TC- Tyler Rhoten 8-13 0-0 16, Corey Days 4-8 4-4 12, Shaun Smyth 3-6 (3) 3-4 12, Ryan Uszenski 2-8 (2) 4-4 10, John Halas 3-10 (2) 2-4 10, Darren Baker 2-3 (1) 38, Jesse Farrell 0-1 2-4 2, Kevin Reed 1-4 0-0 2, Wesley Stonely 0-0 0-0 0, Aaron Goldstein 0-0 0-0 0, Ben Max 0-1 0-1 0.
Totals: 23-54 (8) 18-25.}