Hartford, Conn. - December 7, 2016 - Despite a combined 39 points from Jake Ross (Northampton, Mass.) and Andy McNulty (West Springfield, Mass.), the Springfield College men's basketball team was edged by host Trinity College, 74-66, on Wednesday evening in non-conference action.

The loss drops the Pride to 3-4 on the season, while the Bantams improved to 4-3.

Ross paced the Pride with 20 points and eight rebounds, marking the fourth time this season he has hit the 20-point plateau.  McNulty added 19 points, 13 of which came in the first half, and Heath Post (Cheshire, Conn.) chipped in nine rebounds and seven points.  The Pride shot just 34.8% from the floor, connecting on 23-of-66 attempts, including 7-for-25 from beyond the arc.  Springfield was outscored 40-24 in the paint on the night.

After digging itself an 8-2 deficit to start the game, McNulty scored 11 points in a 1:42 span to give the Pride a 15-12 lead at the 11:06 mark and force the hosts into a timeout.  Trinity responded with a 10-2 surge to regain a 22-17 lead, only to have Ross later even the game at 26 from the charity stripe with just over two minutes in the opening half.   However, Trinity would go into the half with a 31-28 edge, as McNulty led all scorers with 13 points at the break.

Ross was sensational to start the second frame, scoring Springfield's first nine points, including a triple at the 16:53 mark to put the visitors ahead, 37-36.  Another inside bucket from Ross a little more than two minutes later gave the Pride its final lead of the night, 41-38, as Trinity came out of a timeout with an 8-0 burst to take the lead for good. Springfield, which went on to trail by as much as 12, fought back within 69-63 on a Trey Witter (Unionville, Conn.) trifecta with under a minute to play, but the hosts would hold on for the non-conference victory.

Springfield will play again on Saturday when it hosts Williams at 2 pm as part of the Celebration of 125 Years of Basketball at Springfield College.