HARTFORD, Conn. – Suffolk men's basketball could not keep up with No. 1 Trinity and fell to the top-ranked Bantams, 77-53, Tuesday night in the opening game of the Trinity Holiday Tournament at Stan Ogrodnik Court at Ray Oosting Gymnasium.   

THE BASICS
SCORE: Suffolk 53 | No. 1 Trinity 77
RECORDS: Suffolk (6-4) | No. 1 Trinity (9-0)  

HOW IT HAPPENED

• See-saw action consumed the first seven minutes that saw one tied score and three exchanges before Trinity snuck in front, 13-8. 
• Out of a Suffolk time, Harrison Neil sandwiched buckets around a Hatcher Nordquist lay-up to even the score at 15-all at the midway point of the opening half, but Trinity managed to hold onto the upperhand two minutes later, 21-18.
• The blue-and-gold's offense hit a lull over the next four-plus minutes, which allowed Trinity to build a double-figure, 31-18, margin with 3:36 left in the first frame. 
• Nick Verdile knocked down a hoop from 3-point land to get Suffolk's scoring again, which helped keep the margin at 11, 36-25, as the teams went to the locker rooms. 
• Similar to the opening five minutes, Suffolk stuck with Trinity to get the second half underway and managed to chip the deficit down to nine, 43-34, with 15:41 to go. 
• Another scoreless stretch by the Rams allowed the Bantams to regain a double digit distance that extended to as many as 20, which proved to be too much ground for the blue-and-gold to make up.  

STATISTICALLY SPEAKING

• Verdile was the lone Ram in double figures in scoring with a 15 point effort. He shot 5-for-8 from the field that including a 4-for-6 showing from behind-the-arc. He added two helpers and one board. 
• Jones pulled down six rebounds to lead Suffolk's effort on the glass to go along with three points, one assist and one steal. 
• Connor Strickland was on the verge of double figures in scoring with nine points. His stat line featured four rebounds and one swat. 
• Neil notched nine points, five boards, two handouts and one swat. 
• Trinity outrebounded Suffolk, 40-35. 

WHAT'S NEXT?
Suffolk will take on either Albertus Magnus or UMass Dartmouth tomorrow, Wednesday, Dec. 31 in the consolation contest at 12:00 p.m.