HARTFORD, Conn. – Sophomores Jayde Dawson and Johnny McCarthy combined to score 45 points as the No. 14 Amherst College men's basketball team fended off a late 12-5 run by Trinity College with less than two minutes to play as the Purple & White earned an 89-82 NESCAC victory over the Bantams Saturday afternoon in Hartford, Conn.

RECORDS
Amherst (16-3, 5-1 NESCAC)
Trinity (14-6, 5-1 NESCAC)

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Amherst, which shot 50.9% from the field and 39.1% from three-point range, held a 14-point, 84-70 lead with 1:31 to play in the game, and fended off a late 12-5 rally by Trinity to secure its 89-82 victory.
• McCarthy was terrific from long distance, connecting on 4-of-9 from beyond-the-arc en route to a game-high, and collegiate career-best 23 points, while Dawson scored 22 points on 6-of-11 shooting from the floor, and 8-of-12 efficiency from the free throw line.
• Jeff Racy '17 canned a pair of treys, was 4-for-5 from the field and finished with 12 points, while Connor Green '16, Michael Riopel '18, and Eric Conklin '17 all finished with seven points each. David George '17 added a team-high eight rebounds, while McCarthy grabbed seven boards.
• Jaquann Starks finished with a team-best 21 points for the Bantams, while Ed Ogundeko and Langdon Neal followed with 15 and 11 points respectively. Shay Ajayi chipped in 10 points in the losing effort, while Ogundeko amassed a game-best 14 rebounds and swatted three shots.

FIRST HALF HIGHLIGHTS

• Rick Naylor hit the backend of two free throws to give Trinity an early, 1-0 lead with 1:36 elapsed in the contest before George powered in a layup to spark a 12-0 run by Amherst that featured triples from Racy and Dawson.
• Trailing by 10 (34-24) with 6:49 to play in the first period, Jeremy Arthur converted a three-point play making a layup and swishing the ensuing foul shot, and Starks drained a pair from the charity stripe, to pull Trinity to within five at 34-29 with 6:04 left in the stanza.
• A pair of Neal foul shots one minute later shrunk the Bantams deficit to just three (36-33), but Amherst scored 14 of the final 23 points of the half, capped by a Riopel mid-range jumper, to give the Purple & White a 50-42 advantage at intermission.

SECOND HALF HIGHLIGHTS

• Amherst kept Trinity at bay in the second half and eventually extended its lead to 14 (84-70) with just 1:31 on the clock following a pair of Dawson free throws.
• The Bantams answered with a 12-5 surge that saw the hosts pull to within five at 87-82 following a Starks bucket in the paint, but McCarthy, who connected on 3-of-4 from the charity stripe down the stretch, made both attempts at the line with just two ticks on the clock to seal the 89-82 win.

UP NEXT

• Amherst returns to LeFrak Gymnasium Tuesday, Feb. 2 when it hosts Rhode Island College in non-conference action at 7 p.m.
• Trinity travels to Tufts University for a 7 p.m. showdown Friday, Feb. 5.