Trinity 87, Bates 84
at Lewiston, Maine

TRINITY OUTLASTS BATES, 87-84

LEWISTON, Maine Ð In a game that featured seven ties and 22 lead changes, the visiting Trinity College Bantams pulled out an 87-84 road victory over the host Bates College Bobcats in New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) men's basketball play today.

Most of the back-and-forth action took place in the first half that featured four ties and 18 lead changes. Trinity (12-3, 3-1 NESCAC) took the biggest lead of the stanza, 37-33, on a 3-pointer by sophomore Colin Tabb (Somers, Conn.) with 33 seconds left, but Bates junior Ed Walker (Roxbury, Mass.) answered with three seconds on the clock, sending the Bobcats into the half down one, 37-36.

The Bantams opened the second half on an 11-4 run over the first 3:17, taking a 48-40 lead on an offensive rebound by Tabb for their biggest lead of the game at eight points. Bates (11-6, 0-3 NESCAC) responded with an 11-2 run of their own over the next four minutes to give them their first lead of the half at the 12:34 mark on another Walker hoop. Trinity scored the next four points to take a 54-51 lead with 11:44 remaining in the contest.

Bates then scored 11 of the next 12 points, including two 3-pointers by junior Billy Hart (Haverhill, Mass.) and one by sophomore Matt LaPointe (Beverly, Mass.) that gave the Bobcats their biggest lead of the contest, 62-55, with 9:44 remaining. Trinity answered with an 11-4 run of their own, tying the contest, 66-66, with 7:15 left. The teams traded baskets on the next eight possessions before Trinity claimed the lead for good, 77-76, on a bucket by senior Michael LaBella (Middletown, Conn.) with 2:36 left. The Bantams looked to put the game away when they went up four, 85-81, on a long outlet pass from Tabb to junior Brian Dion (E. Haven, Conn.) with 23 seconds left, but Walker answered with his sixth 3-pointer of the game. Trinity senior Michael Keohane (Belmont, Mass.) hit the two ensuing free throws to give Trinity the 87-84 lead, and Walker's 3-pointer at the buzzer just missed.

For Bates, Walker led all scorers with a career-high 30 points on 12 of 23 shooting, including six of 15 from 3-point range. Classmate Alex Wilson (Duxbury, Mass.) added 13 points and Hart had 11.

Dion led Trinity with 20 points on 10 of 14 shooting from the floor, while Tabb just missed a triple-double with 18 points, 11 assists and six rebounds. Keohane also had 18, while reserve Ryan Usenski (Woodbridge, N.J.) had 17 points off the bench.