FORT WAYNE, Ind. – The fourth-ranked Trinity College men's basketball team defeated third-ranked Wesleyan University, 73-69, in the 2025 NCAA Division III Men's Basketball Championship Semifinals at the Allen County War Memorial Coliseum Thursday night. The Bantams rise to 29-3 on the season, while the Cardinals wrap the season with a 30-2 record.
With the win, the Bantams advance to the NCAA Division III National Championship Game for the first time in program history, and will face New York University (29-1), a 72-60 winner over WashU, on Saturday, March 22 at 4:02 p.m. The game can be seen on ESPN+ with a subscription.
The Bantams had four scorers in double figures, led by 15-point efforts from Henry Vetter and Jarrel Okorougo. Okorougo added 10 rebounds for his fourth double-double of the season, while Drew Lazarre posted his fifth double-double of the season with 11 points and a game-high 12 rebounds, including seven offensive rebounds. Jared Berry notched 11 points off the bench, and Will Dorion had nine points, three rebounds and two assists in the win.
Nicky Johnson paced the Cardinals offense with a game-high 19 points and eight rebounds. Shane Regan netted 17 points and three rebounds, while Ben Lyttle added 11 points and eight rebounds.
Play was tight early in the first half as the teams settled in with Trinity holding a 9-8 edge behind a four-point play from Dorion. Berry chipped in three points off the bench to help the Bantams maintain a 14-10 lead at the 10:57 mark. A pair of three-pointers from both Nicky Johnson and Ben Lyttle helped the Cardinals take a 29-23 lead with 5:01 on the clock. The Bantams ripped a 14-4 run over the next three-plus minutes, punctuated by a three-pointer from Trevor McDonald to put Trinity on top, 33-31, at the half.
The Bantams opened the second half on a 7-2 run, paced by buckets from Okorougo, Vetter and Lazarre. Berry netted eight straight points, including back-to-back three-pointers, to escort the Bantams lead to 52-39 with 12:22 on the clock. The sides exchanged buckets over the next four minutes as the Bantams maintained a 59-47 lead with 7:53 to play. The Cardinals rattled off a 13-6 run over the next four minutes to close the gap to 65-60 at the 3:37 mark. Leading 69-64 with less than two minutes to play, the Bantams defense locked up the Cardinals and Trinity built a seven-point lead with 50 seconds showing on the clock. The Bantams were able to secure the win at the foul line.
The Bantams outrebounded the Cardinals, 46-36, and held the edge off the bench, 20-13, while both sides grabbed 30 rebounds. Trinity shot 27-of-69 (39.1%) from the floor, 7-of-23 (30.4%) from three-point range, and 12-of-20 (60%) from the free throw stripe. Wesleyan connected on 25-of-62 (40.3%) of their attempts, including 9-of-24 (37.5%) from three-point, and 10-of-14 (71.4%) from the foul line.
