MIDDLETOWN, Conn. – The second-seeded Trinity College Men's Basketball team defeated host and top-seeded Wesleyan University, 75-67, in the 2025 NESCAC Men's Basketball Championship game at Silloway Gymnasium on Sunday afternoon.
The Bantams become the sixth school in conference history to win back-to-back NESCAC Championships, and the first since Middlebury in 2016 & 2017. Trinity receives the NESCAC's automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Men's Basketball Championship Tournament. The NCAA Selection Show is scheduled for Monday, March 3 at Noon via a livestream on NCAA.com.
Junior Henry Vetter netted a team-high 16 points, shooting 5-of-10 from the field and 4-of-6 from 3-point, with four rebounds and two assists. Junior Drew Lazarre registered 15 points with a team-high six rebounds and a team-high four assists. Senior Will Dorion added nine points, while junior Jarrell Okorougo and sophomore Tristan Davis and Jared Berry chipped in eight points apiece.
Shane Regan led the Cardinals with a game-high 21 points, connecting on 6-of-8 field goals, with three rebounds and three assists. Senior Nicky Johnson tallied 17 points with six rebounds and a game-high six assists, while Oscar Edelman had 10 points and four rebounds off the bench.
Wesleyan opened the contest on a 9-2 run, sparked by five points from Shane Regan, and extended the advantage to 18-7 on a layup from Sam Pohlman at the 11:55 mark. The Bantams second unit carried Trinity back into the contest with an 12-0 run as back-to-back three-pointers from senior Sean Macarchuk and Berry handed the Bantams a 19-18 lead with 8:36 remaining in the first. Five points from Nicky Johson regained a 25-21 lead for Wesleyan, but four points from Davis and 3-pointers from Vetter and Dorion put Trinity ahead 31-29. A jumper from first-year David Ayles and free throws from Vetter gave the Bantams a 35-34 edge until Jackson Cormier hit a buzzer-beating floater to give the Cardinals a 36-35 lead at the break.
Dorion and Regan exchanged 3-pointers early in the second half as only one possession separated the teams. A pair of buckets from Vetter followed by a 3-pointer from Lazarre knotted the score at 53-53 with 12:56 to play. Vetter buried a step-back 3-pointer and McDonald delivered a dominant move in the paint to hand Trinity a 59-54 lead with 6:53 remaining. Lazarre took over for the Bantams down the stretch, scoring 12 points in the final six minutes to guide Trinity to the 75-67 win.
The Cardinals edged the Bantams, 34-30, on the glass and in the paint, 32-20, while the Trinity reserves outscored the Wesleyan bench, 19-12. The Bantams connected on 24-of-50 (48%) from the field, including 13-of-26 (50%) from three-point range, and 14-of-17 (82.4%) from the foul line. The Cardinals shot 23-of-61 (37.7%) from the field, 6-of-27 (22.2%) from beyond the arc, and 15-of-18 (83.3%) from the free throw stripe.
