Ban-tabulous: Trinity wins Division III national title with 64-60 win over NYU
The state of Connecticut will have at least one national championship in basketball this month. Henry Vetter’s 3-point goal with 10 seconds left sealed Trinity’s 64-60 victory over NYU in the NCAA Division III final Saturday at Fort Wayne, Ind.
It’s the first ever national championship for Trinity, which began playing in 1894. The Bantams (30-3) won their last 15 games, beating Wesleyan, ranked No.1, in the conference championship game and in the national semifinal.
Vetter, Trinity’s leading scorer, was only 5 for 15 from the floor, but made several big baskets down the stretch to finish with 14 points. Jarrel Okorougo, who had 20 points and nine rebounds, hit two free throws to seal the game after NYU missed a last-ditch shot. Will Dorion and Drew Lazarre each scored 10 for fourth-overall seed Trinity in the back-and-forth final.
Trinity grinds its way past Wesleyan, 73-69, and into Division III championship vs. No. 1 NYU
NYU (30-2) got 15 points from Hampton Sanders.
Trinity jumped out to a 5-0 lead, and NYU later surged to lead by as many as five points. Trinity led 30-27 at halftime as the teams stayed within five of each other throughout the first half. The Violets led 33-27 early in the second half, but Trinity edged back again, tying it at 33 on a basket by Vetter. A three-point play from Lazarre again extended the lead to five, but NYU pulled even at 46 on Triston Howe’s bucket.
Okorougo, who hit nine of his first 13 shots from floor, kept Trinity in the game, as it remained within a field goal one way or the other down the stretch.
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Zay Freeney’s basket gave NYU a 55-50 lead with 3:39 to play, the Bantams again surged back on Vetter’s three. Vetter hit a mid-range jumper, pulling Trinity within one, 60-59, with 1:16 left.
The Bantams gained possession on a turnover with 38 seconds to go and set up a potential game-winner, but Vetter missed. Another NYU turnover gave the Bantams the ball back, still down one, with 23 seconds left. After coach James Cosgrove called a timeout, Trinity missed two shots, but got both offensive rebounds and Vetter, this time, took a 3-pointer and hit with 10 seconds left to give the Bantams the lead, 62-60..
NYU’s Sanders missed the Violets’ final shot, and Trinity could start celebrating as Okorougo drew the foul and made both free throws.
Trinity reached the Final Four in 1995 and again in 2024. Their third trip proved to be the one in which they got it done. The defeated Neumann, Keene State, Western New England, Catholic U, Wesleyan and NYU in their march to the 2025 championship.
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