SCHENECTADY, N.Y. – The Union College men's basketball team was overwhelmed by #1 Trinity (Conn.) College on Sunday afternoon in the championship game of the Sig Makofski Invitational, falling to the defending national champions by a 97-56 score on Sunday afternoon at Viniar Athletic Center.
 
Drew Lazarre scored 16 points and averaged 14.5 points per game over the weekend to earn Most Valuable Player honors, while David Ayles scored a game-high 18 points on Sunday to earn a spot on the All-Tournament Team. Jarrel Okorougo added nine points and nine rebounds as well for top-ranked Trinity (5-0).
 
Junior Jack Plesser scored a team-leading 17 points to earn All-Tournament Team honors for Union (4-2). Sophomore Scott Schmitt had a strong game off the bench for the Garnet Chargers, hitting all five shots on the way to 10 points to go with five rebounds and four blocks in 16 minutes.
 
Trinity came out firing on Sunday, hitting nine of its first 12 shots to take a 20-7 lead less just over six minutes into the contest. After Union scored six in a row to get back within seven, the Bantams hit 11-of-15 shots to rattle off 29 straight points and take a commanding 49-13 advantage with 3:38 left in the opening half. The Bantams shot 59.5 percent (22 of 37) in the opening 20 minutes and recorded 14 fast-break points to take a 54-21 lead at the intermission, while the Garnet Chargers shot just 7-of-24 (29.1 percent) and turned the ball over 10 times in the first half.
 
Union shot 48.0 percent (12 of 25) from the field in the second half to stay with Trinity for much of the frame, but the home team could not make a significant dent in the deficit. After a quiet first half, Plesser scored 15 of his points in the second stanza while Schmitt had a good showing in the paint with all 10 of his points.
 
The home team finished the game shooting 38.8 percent (19 of 49) from the field, while the visitors ended the day at 53.4 percent (39 of 73) from the field and 51.7 percent (15 of 29) from long range. The opportunistic Bantams also converted 19 Union turnovers into 32 points and had a 23-6 edge in fast-break points.
 
Union will look to get back in the win column when Liberty League play begins on Friday with a 7:30 p.m. matchup against St. Lawrence University at Viniar Athletic Center.