Men's Basketball Finishes Solid November Month

ALEX DAHLEM ’20
SPORTS EDITOR
Trinity men’s basketball began their 2017-18 campaign in solid fashion this month, playing six contests and winning four. The Bantams tipped off the season with an impressive win in the Maine Maritime Academy Tip-Off Tournament in Castine, Maine. Trinity dusted conference opponent Bates in the first round by a score of 80-52. 40 of Trinity’s 80 points were scored by bench players, and the Bantams ended the game with a 20-5 scoring run. The next day, Trinity went on to defeat Wheelock College 88-66 in the championship game. Jeremy Arthur ’19 (13 pts, 7 rebs) and Christian Porydzy ‘20 (8 assists) led the Bantam stat line in a consistent and dominating performance.
Trinity returned to Hartford on Nov. 21 for a home-opener matchup against the Elms College Blazers. Another impressive performance by Arthur along with a 10 rebound and 6 assist showing from co-captain Eric Gendron ’18 gave the Bantams a wire-to-wire 80-51 victory. This win also marked the first time in ten years that the Bantams were 3-0 through three games of their season. The Bantams were dealt their first loss of the season on Nov. 26 against Nichols College. Despite 14 more points in the paint than Nichols and a 17-point performance by Joe Bell ’20, the Bantams struggled on defense, giving up 89 points to their hot-shooting opponents.
After their first loss of the season, Trinity stormed back with an emphatic win against the Mt. St. Vincent Dolphins on Nov. 28. Both teams were cold early and the game remained scoreless for nearly three minutes. The Bantams employed a full court press early on in the game in order to stifle the Mt. St. Vincent offense, opening up easy points from turnovers for Trinity. Both teams’ shooting remained stagnant for the rest of the half, and the Bantams entered the break with a 28-24 lead. The second half was a story of runs. The Dolphins went on a 7-0 run at the 14- minute mark to tie the game up at 34 points each. A few key defensive stops then propelled the Bantams on a run of their own. Judah Woney ’19 spearheaded the run with a huge block. Quick buckets by Joe Bell ‘20 and Kyle Padmore ’20 helped bring the Bantams to a 45-34 lead. Trinity never looked back, eventually pulling away for the 74-59 victory. Front court defense was the clear strong point for the Bantams as they held the Dolphins to a 30.2% field goal percentage and just 16 points in the paint.
On Nov. 30 Trinity travelled to Danbury, CT to take on the Western Connecticut State University Colonials. Porydzy, Gendron, and Connor Merinder ’19 scored 21, 13, and 10 points respectively, displaying the depth of talent on the Bantams roster. Trinity dominated the first half and entered the break with a 41-28 lead off of 45.9% shooting and several three-pointers. The second half was a different story however. Several offensive burst by Western quickly tied the game up at 45 points each. The lead changed hands several times over the closing minutes, but the Colonials snuck away with the 65-62 victory. The Bantam struggles in the second half amounted to converting just 8 of 29 shots from the floor in the second half. The men return home for a matchup against Bard College on Dec. 5.