Trinity Pawling basketball tops Salisbury 78-57

SALISBURY — The Crimson Knights’ early season basketball struggles continued with a 78-57 loss at home against Trinity Pawling School on Saturday, Dec. 9.

Salisbury School kept even with the Lions for most of the first half before the Pride ran away with it in the second. Trinity Pawling’s superior size created a dominant presence in the paint and gave Salisbury trouble on both ends of the court.

Salisbury School’s Flood Athletic Center was buzzing Dec. 9 with a hockey game against Kent School just across the hall from the basketball court. Fans and students bounced between the two matches for a double feature of Saturday night sports.

Having started the season with four losses, the Knights looked determined to right the ship in front of a home crowd. They played Trinity Pawling close at the start, trusting the zone defense and creating strong scoring opportunities through a pass-first offense. 

Salisbury pulled ahead 21-20 midway through the first when Chris Redhead lobbed an alley-oop to Bailey Coleman. 

Just before halftime, Trinity Pawling caught wind and scored eight unanswered points. Salisbury’s lack of reserve players added to the pressure of the starters, who appeared to be running on fumes after a physical half. 

By the break, the Lions led 40-30.

Fans went back to the hockey game during intermission and Salisbury’s team returned from the locker room looking spent. Trinity kept adding to its double-digit lead as tensions rose on the court. 

With about two minutes to play, Redhead exchanged words with Trinity Pawling forward Benedek Maly. The scuffle resulted in a late shove from Redhead and an immediate ejection by the refs. 

The game concluded 78-57 in favor of Trinity Pawling. The Lions were led in scoring by Jaice Martabano with 27 points. Salisbury’s top scorer was Bailey Coleman with 20 points including a pair of colossal dunks.

Salisbury moved to 0-5 on the season while Trinity Pawling advanced to 2-1. 

The Knights will play their next four games on the road before returning home to host Deerfield Academy on Jan. 13. Tip off is at 5 p.m.

Bailey Coleman took flight for a slam dunk against Trinity Pawling on Dec. 9. Photo by Riley Klein