By: KJ Cardinal
MANCHESTER, NH – Trailing by two points with 3.5 seconds remaining in overtime, Trinity’s Collin Charbenneau connected on a three-pointer as time expired to give the host Pioneers a 68-67 OT victory over visiting Keene in an instant-classic on Tuesday night.
The Blackbirds came into the game atop the Division I standings with a 10-1 record and used a dramatic buzzer beater of their own to force overtime as Kasen Abbott buried a three at the end of regulation to tie the game at 59-59.
Early on it didn’t look like there would be an epic finish to this one as Keene trailed by as many as 21 points. They came out flat to start the game, trailing 17-6 after one quarter of play and later 35-16 at the half.
The Blackbirds battled all the way back in the second half as Abbott’s straight-away three forced overtime. The extra session was tight throughout before Charbenneau’s dramatics.
Jordan Torres led all scorers with a game-high 20 points for Trinity, while Cherbenneau (19 points) and Jamar Alleyne (10) both added double digits. Keene was paced by 18 from Jamal Stanley, 17 from Javon Massiah, 12 from Will Fontaine and 11 from Fitch Hennessey. Abbott’s triple to force OT was his only three of the game as he finished with five points.
With the win, Trinity moves to 9-4 on the season and into a tie for fifth place in the D-I standings. Keene falls to 10-2 and sits one game behind Bedford in the win column.
Check out the full photo gallery by Dave Beliveau…
