Wow, what a performance by Trinity and an incredible season. Per the usual Bantam way, it was a tremendous defensive effort combined with good offensive rebounding that allowed them to hang around before Vetter's clutch 3 to take the lead back with seconds to play and ultimately win the game.

A couple of things worth noting about Trinity:
First, what a job by Cosgrove. Just a couple of years ago, the story on him was that he was an excellent, excellent defensive coach who frankly didn't have the offensive mindset to take his teams to the next level. He has clearly improved in how he runs Trinity's offensive sets and of course has benefited from bringing in a wealth of skilled scorers and/or playmakers like Vetter, Lazarre, Okorougo, Dorion, and Berry.
Second, as SpringSt mentioned this weekend, this Trinity team does not suddenly have guys they have never recruited before. Rather, the depth is what has propelled them to the next level. Having a Will Dorion as the 4th option within the starters and bringing guys like Berry, Ayles, and McDonald off the bench is a luxury that the Bantams haven't had in terms of their depth until recently. Vetter may be a step above some of their other guys of late, but overall the depth is the clear difference in their teams of the last couple of years compared to years past. Because otherwise, Trinity has always played rockfights and been outstanding defensively.

Credit to the Bantams. It sort of feels like their surge has snuck up on everyone, even though they have been quite good for some time. Obviously the last 2 years have been to another level and to see another Nescac team on top is gratifying. Huge congrats to the folks in Hartford.

Congrats to Wesleyan and Trinity. Great for the league and for all of us to get to see that matchup one more time.

Great point re Trinity's second unit, D3BBall. In games that I have seen this year, there have been countless times Trinity gets off to a slow-ish start before the second unit comes in and puts things back on track. Teams are forced to either (a) keep their starters in beyond maybe a common 6-8 minute range to start the game or (b) go to their generally weaker players off the bench. Either way it seems the Bantams' second unit consistently takes advantage. I don't think there are 2 better guards in the country to be bringing off your bench than Berry and Ayles. Berry is one of the purest scorers this league has to offer, despite his modest playing time, while Ayles is incredible defensively and does a good job of directing traffic on offense. I'd add that McDonald in the frontcourt is just a classic Cosgrove player. Gritty/grinder/hustler etc. etc.

Hey fellas- long time listener, first time caller here. Figured it was time to make my debut post on the Board. Appreciate all the insight you guys have provided all season long. Certainly an interesting year in the Nescac with notable storylines including the up and down seasons of the two major programs with new leadership, Tufts and Amherst, the unexpected demise of Colby, and of course the job Jeff Brown did up north this year. And that's before even mentioning the season's two best performers in Wes and Williams. Just goes to show how competitive this league is every year as preseason predictions start to fizzle with the season's opening tip and are put to sleep upon the entrance of NESCAC play.

Re the Conference Awards discussion: I always find it fascinating the amount of thought that gets put in to predicting the all-conference squads prior to their inevitably head-scratching release. The only conclusion I have ever come to is that the Coaches generally seem to treat the all-conference teams as a sign of respect to the players that have meant most to their programs, and that frankly they are not worried about getting their first or second team "right" per se. Obviously this is often showcased through the influence seniority has on these awards, but I think all-in-all it's safe to say that the Coaches typically aren't suffering from internal debates over whether Garrett Day deserves All-NESCAC this year or if Luke Rogers had a First-Team caliber season.