HARTFORD, CT – The Amherst College men's basketball team batted defending national champion Trinity College to a 48-47 lead with ten minutes remaining in the second half, but 10 points from the contest's lead-scorer, senior Jarrel Okoruogo, held off Amherst the rest of the way in a 75-67 decision at Oosting Gymnasium on Friday afternoon
Amherst fell to an 11-4 record and 1-1 in NESCAC play, while Trinity remained unbeaten at 15-0 overall and 3-0 in the conference. The Mammoths will visit Middletown to face Wesleyan next, who they'll battle in Silloway Gymnasium on Saturday at 3 p.m.
GAME HIGHLIGHTS:
*The Bantams wasted little time heating things up, scoring 6 unanswered points in the opening three minutes. Senior Henry Vetter netted the first basket of the game with a mid-range jumper at 18:45 remaining.
*First-year K.J. Neville and junior Zane Adnan answered with two three-pointers at 16:42 and 14:37 remaining. The effort was aided by three successful free throws from junior Marc Garraud to push Amherst into the lead at 9-8.
*The Mammoths broke away on an 11-0 run in the following four minutes to make it 20-8. Adnan ignited the stretch with a three-pointer from the left corner before Pabis netted a fadeaway jumper from the paint on the ensuing Amherst possession. Later, sophomore Elias Chin intercepted a Trinity pass to lead the way for a three-pointer for first-year Sherron Woodberry. The duo swapped roles with 10:50 remaining as Woodberry fed to Chin at the top of the arch to close Amherst's drive with a three-pointer.
*Trinity retaliated with their own 14-0 streak between 10:28 and 3:25 remaining to reclaim the lead 25-20. The drive was highlighted by three-pointers from junior Paul Ippolito, sophomore David Ayles, and Okoruogo.
*Tied 28-28 with 26 seconds remaining, Okoruogo hit a three-pointer at the buzzer to give Trinity the lead heading into the second half, 31-28.
*Neville opened second-half scoring with a three-pointer to equalize the contest 31-31 with 19:08 remaining. Both sides traded baskets to tie the game 42-42 five minutes later.
*A layup from Neville briefly gave Amherst a 48-47 lead at the ten-minute mark, but the Bantam offense capitalized on Amherst turnovers to pour in 9 unanswered points across the next two minutes.
*Garraud threaded a three-pointer from the corner at 6:19 to make it a five-point game at 58-53. Successful penalty shooting from senior Drew Martin weakened the gap to 58-55 with just over six minutes remaining.
*Pabis, Adnan, and senior Chris Hammond poured in a collective 9 points from threes in the final five minutes, but a strong offensive effort from Okoruogo, coupled with tight defense from Trinity, settled the game in the host's favor at 75-67.
BY THE NUMBERS:
*Trinity held the offensive advantage in field goal and three-pointer conversions, completing 50% (27-54) of field goal attempts compared to Amherst's 35.7% (20-56), and netting 52.6% (10-19) of three-pointers compared to Amherst's 40% (12-30). The Mammoths led in free-throw shooting, converting 71.4% to Trinity's 52.4%.
*Okoruogo scored the most points of any player in the contest, netting 22. The guard also tallied the most rebounds with 9. Off Amherst's roster, Neville, Chin, and Adnan tied for the most points, each scoring 11.
