FORT WAYNE, Ind. – The fourth-ranked Trinity College Men's Basketball team claimed the program's first ever NCAA Division III National Championship with a 64-60 victory over top-ranked New York University, in the Title Game Saturday afternoon at the Allen County War Memorial Coliseum.
Trailing 60-59 with ten seconds to play, Will Dorion missed a three-point attempt, but Trevor McDonald battled for the offensive rebound and was off on the putback, but Drew Lazarre grabbed another offensive board and found Henry Vetter at the top of the key, who buried a game-winning three-pointer to help send the Bantams to the 64-60 victory.
Trinity had four scorers in double figures, led by Jarrel Okorougo with a game-high 20 points and nine rebounds. Vetter netted 14 points with five rebounds, while Dorion and Drew Lazarre added 10 points apiece. Lazarre grabbed a team-high 10 rebounds for his team-leading sixth double-double of the season.
NYU was paced by Hampton Sanders with a team-high 15 points and six rebounds off the bench. Zay Freeney tallied 14 points and Tristan How recorded a double-double with 12 points and a game-high 12 rebounds.
The Bantams grabbed an early 7-4 lead behind five points from Dorion, but the Violets used an 8-4 featuring five points from Sanders to put NYU ahead 12-11 with 10:39 on the clock. The Violets pushed their lead to 25-18, but a pair of buckets from Okorougo and Lazarre trimmed the game to 25-22 at the 3:44 mark. The Violets took a 30-27 lead into halftime.
The Bantams came out of the break rolling, using a 10-3 run, paced by four-point efforts from Okorougo and Lazarre, to harness a 37-33 lead at the 15:19 mark of the second half. Knotted at 48-48 with 6:39 to play, the Violets rattled off a 7-2 run over the next three minutes to regain a 55-50 advantage. A quick triple from Vetter and a pair of free throws from Dorion closed the gap to 57-55 with 2:49 on the clock.
The Bantams edged the Violets on the glass, 40-32, and controlled the paint, 32-26, while the NYU bench outscored the Trinity reserves, 21-8. The Bantams connected on 25-of-66 (37.9%) from the field, 5-of-26 (19.2%) from three-point, and 9-of-13 (69.2%) from the foul line. The Violets shot 22-of-52 (42.3%) from the floor, including 7-of-21 (33.3%) from three-point, and 9-of-16 (56.3%) from the foul line.
With the win, the Bantams matched the program record for wins in a season (30), tying the mark set last season during the Bantams run to the Final Four. Trinity held NYU to their lowest point total of the season (60). Henry Vetter was named the Tournament's Most Outstanding Player, while Jarrel Okorougo and Drew Lazarre earned All-Tournament Team honors.
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