Trinity and Tufts earned Sweet 16 wins to book their tickets to Fort Wayne, Indiana and a spot in the Elite 8 field of the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament. The Bantams are back in the Elite 8 for the second year in a row following an 88-71 win over Hood College. The Jumbos earned their second Elite 8 appearance in program history after defeating NESCAC foe Wesleyan, 75-61. The NESCAC opponents will square off in the Elite 8 on Thursday, March 19, at Allen County War Memorial Coliseum in Fort Wayne. It will be a rematch of the NESCAC Semifinal game which Trinity won 80-70, on February 28.

Trinity def. Hood, 88-71 | Box Score
Jarrel Okorougo scored 24 points and Jared Berry added 14 off the bench as Trinity pulled away from Hood 88-71 at Ray Oosting Gymnasium.

Trinity led by as many as 22 points in the second half and never trailed, building a 46-35 halftime advantage before closing out the victory.

Henry Vetter contributed 20 points and six rebounds for the Bantams (28-2), who shot 46.8 percent from the field and generated 21 fast break points. Drew Lazarre chipped in 14 points and 10 rebounds.

Jevon Yarbrough led Hood with 28 points on 10 of 20 shooting, adding seven rebounds and six assists. Garrett Cox contributed 16 points for the Blazers (26-4), who were outrebounded 42-38 and committed 14 turnovers that Trinity converted into 15 points.

Trinity dominated in the paint, outscoring Hood 50-42 on interior points, and got 22 points from its bench compared to just six for Hood.

Tufts def. Wesleyan, 75-61 | Box Score
Ricardo Nieves scored 21 points and Tufts held off Wesleyan for a 75-61 win at Silloway Gymnasium, avenging a regular-season loss to the Cardinals.

The Jumbos led 44-22 at halftime, shooting 53.6 percent from the field while limiting the Cardinals to just 24 percent shooting in the opening 20 minutes. Tufts built its advantage as large as 22 points in the first half and never relinquished control, withstanding a second-half Wesleyan rally that pulled the Cardinals within seven before the Jumbos steadied themselves down the stretch.

Joshua Bernstein added 17 points and 12 rebounds, and Jon Medley contributed 16 points and five rebounds for Tufts (24-5), which scored 38 points in the paint and generated 16 fast-break points. Scott Gyimesi added nine points off the bench.

Ben Lyttle led Wesleyan (23-8) with 18 points and eight rebounds, and Zach Wolinski added 15. The Cardinals shot 37.9 percent for the game and committed 11 turnovers that Tufts converted into 16 points.