FORT WAYNE BOUND! #1 Men's Basketball Downs #16 Hood, 88-71, In Sweet 16

HARTFORD, Conn. – For the third straight season, and fourth time in program history, the top-ranked Trinity College Men's Basketball advanced to the Elite Eight of the 2026 NCAA Division III Men's Basketball Championship Tournament after defeating sixteenth-ranked Hood College, 88-71, in the Sweet Sixteen at Ray Oosting Gymnasium Saturday afternoon. The Bantams improve to 28-2 on the season, while the Blazers wrap with a 26-4 mark.

What Happened:

• The Bantams jumped on the Blazers early, racing to a 12-2 lead in the opening five minutes behind seven points from

Henry Vetter. Jarrel Okorougo and Jared Berry chipped in four points apiece to help the lead to 26-11 with 11:26 on the clock.

• Trailing 36-21 at the 7:43 mark, Hood settled in with an 11-4 run, paced by six points from Jevon Yarbough and five from Garrett Cox, to trim the deficit to 40-32.

Samuel Norris, Okorougo and Berry added late buckets to hand Trinity the 46-35 lead at the half.

• Trinity opened the second half with a 11-2 run, but the Blazers responded with ten unanswered points to close the lead to 57-47 with 12:12 to play.

• Back-to-back triples from Vetter and

David Ayles escorted the Bantams lead back to 67-47 as Hood used seven points from Karron Mallory as part of a final comeback bid to set the score at 73-58. Trinity closed out the victory with six points from Okorougo and three from Vetter and Lazarre.

Inside the Numbers:

• The Bantams shot 46.8% (36-of-77) from the floor, including 26.9% (7-of-26) from three-point range, and 60% (9-of-15) from the free throw line.

• The Blazers connected on 43.8% (28-of-64) from the field, 29.4% (5-of-17) from long-range, and 83.3% (10-of-12) from the charity stripe.

• Rebounds: Trinity 42, Hood 38

• Steals: Trinity 13, Hood 4

• Turnovers: Trinity 8, Hood 14

• Points off Turnovers: Trinity 15, Hood 13

• Points in the Paint: Trinity 50, Hood 42

• Bench Points: Trinity 22, Hood 6

• The Bantams had four scorers in double figures, led by Okorougo with a team-high 24 points, shooting 11-of-22, with four rebounds, three steals and two assists.

• Vetter netted 20 points with six rebounds, four assists and two steals, while Berry tallied 14 points, six rebounds and two assists.

• Lazarre stuffed the stat sheet, logging a double-double with 14 points, a game-high 10 rebounds, a game-high six assists, three blocks and two steals.

• Yarbrough powered Hood with a game-high 28 points, seven rebounds, and a game-high six assists.

• Garrett Cox notched 16 points with seven rebounds, while Robinson grabbed a game0high 10 rebounds in the loss.

Up Next:

• The Bantams will head to Fort Wayne to face Tufts University (23-5) in the Elite Eight on Thursday, March 19. Game time is TBD.

• All-time, Trinity owns a 51-39 record against the Jumbos, dating back to their first meeting during the 1905-06 season.

• The squads have split both meetings this season with Tufts taking a 68-62 regular season win, and the Bantams knocking off the Jumbos, 80-70, in the NESCAC Championship Tournament.