Men’s Basketball Wins First Two Rounds of NCAAs, Set to Host Sweet Sixteen

Annika Dyczkowski ’25

Executive Sports Editor

This past weekend Friday, March 7 through Saturday, March 8, Trinity men’s basketball succeeded through the first two rounds of the NCAA tournament, hosting both games in the Oosting Gymnasium. On Friday, the Bantams eliminated the Neumann University Knights 76-60, paced by Henry Vetter ’26, Jarrel Okorougo ’26 and Tristan Davis ’27. Vetter clocked 21 points, while Okorougo put up 19. Davis recorded his first career double-double with 12 points and 15 rebounds. In the post-game press conference, Vetter stated, “I thought we did a good job of [running the floor] and everyone was pretty unselfish.” He continued, “Especially for a lot of us who played in the tournament last year we know that everyone needs to be ready to step up and take advantage of opportunities.” Following Friday’s victory, the team had to be recovered and prepared for a quick turnaround on Saturday evening at 7:10 p.m. for the second round. Okorougo stated, “In our conference, we’re used to playing back-to-back so it’s not really going to be much of a difference, we’re ready to go and get after it.”

On Saturday, Trinity defeated the Keene State College Owls 93-78 to qualify for the Sweet 16; the Bantams are one of 16 teams remaining after a hard fought victory against the Owls. The Bantams dominated the first half, with the exception of a slim three-point lead just over eight minutes into play. The score was 36-25 heading into the second half, giving the Bantams a cushion for the last 20 minutes of regulation. With around ten minutes left of the second half, Keene State stole possession with three triples to bring the score to 64-62. Not long after, the Bantams regained possession with a 14-6 run for a ten-point lead with three minutes remaining. In the final minutes, Trinity’s series of free throw points after multiple fouls and Drew Lazarre’s ’26 three-point basket secured the victory for the Bantams. “We want to make a deep run in this tournament, I think everyone trusts one another to make plays and that’s huge,” Vetter stated at Saturday’s post-game conference. 

In addition to dominating on the stats sheet and a double digit lead heading into the second, the home court advantage fueled the fire for Trinity. The Bantam student section showed up for a white out theme on Friday and a black out on Saturday. The Athletics Department provided tickets for 300 students, which sold out in a matter of minutes, and many more students were in attendance to cheer on the Bantams. Saturday’s crowd elicited a rowdy response from the visiting fan section, where some Owls fans made gestures which insinuated their desire for a fight. A couple of Keene State supporters, presumably fathers of players, yelled obscenities across the court to Trinity’s sea of students. To the Tripod’s knowledge, no fights ensued between the respective fan sections. 

Trinity is set to host the Western New England Golden Bears on Friday, March 14 at 7:15 p.m. for the third round of the NCAA tournament. Be in attendance for a third round NCAA home game to cheer your Bantams into securing an Elite Eight spot!