Trinity Grabs Third NESCAC Win With 64-54 Men's Basketball Final at Tufts

Tarik Smith had 12 points off the bench for Tufts

MEDFORD – The Trinity College Bantams took down the Tufts University Jumbos, 64-54, in NESCAC men's basketball action on Saturday afternoon at Cousens Gym.

Trinity goes to 11-6 overall and 3-1 in the NESCAC. Tufts falls to 7-8 (0-3).

Tufts held a one-point lead at halftime, 30-29, but Trinity had the largest advantage of the half at seven, 19-12. A pair of three-pointers by Tufts first-year guard Tarik Smith (Bronx, NY) sparked the rally back to within one at 25-24 with 3:21 remaining in the half.

A jumper by senior forward Andrew Dowton (Canton, MA) and a three-point shot from senior guard Kwame Firempong (Los Angeles, CA) gave Tufts the lead back, 30-27, for the first time since it was 6-5.

The first half ended with a pair of free throws by Trinity freshman guard Brian Horn (Woodcliff Lake, NJ). Tufts shot 41% (12/29) in the first 20 minutes and held Trinity to just 33% (10/30).

Freshman center Ed Ogundeko (Brooklyn, NY) scored the first four points of the second half for Trinity to put the Bantams up 33-30 and Tufts never led the rest of the day. After ties at 33 and 35, Trinity grabbed the lead for good on a layup by junior forward Alex Conaway (New Haven, CT) at the 15:59 mark.

The Bantams led by as many as 11 at 51-40 in the second half.  The Jumbos then went on an 8-0 run keyed by two dunks by first-year center Hunter Sabety (Oceanside, NY). Three points would be the closest Tufts would get as again the Jumbos trailed by three, 55-52, with 3:56 to play. Sophomore forward Shay Ajayi (Brooklyn, NY) scored five points in the final minutes to help lock up the Trinity win.

Three Bantams scored in double digits, led by Ajayi's 14 points. Conaway and Ogundeko finished with 12 points each. Conaway also grabbed nine rebounds. Junior center George Papadeas (Athens, Greece) had a game-high 13 rebounds off the bench.

Sabety was the Tufts leading scorer with 14 points on 7 for 10 shooting. Smith checked in with 12 points for the Jumbos, going 3 of 4 from long range.

The Jumbos finished at 37% (22/59) shooting, while the Bantams shot 36% (21/59). Trinity out-rebounded Tufts, 48-34,  

Tufts returns to action on Thursday at UMass Boston with the game time set for 7 pm. Trinity will host NESCAC foe Amherst next Saturday at 4 pm.

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