HARTFORD, Ct. – Calvin's season came to a close Saturday night in the national quarterfinal round of the NCAA III Tournament as the Knights fell to third-ranked Trinity College 69-62.

Calvin concludes its season with a 25-5 overall record with the Knights reaching the national quarterfinals for the seventh time.

Calvin had the early momentum, leading 14-7 in the opening eight minutes of the game, forcing Trinity (30-1) into taking an early timeout.

Trinity's defense then turned up a notch as did the physical nature of the game. The Bantams proceeded to go on a 15-1 scoring run to build a 22-15 lead.

A jumper by sophomore Luka Ressler (Caledonia, Mich./G.R. Catholic Central HS) helped stem the tide to make it 22-17. A layup by Ressler made it 24-19 with the Bantams moving on to an eventual 30-23 halftime lead.

Ressler and sophomore Owen Varnado (Muskegon, Mich./Western Michigan Christian HS) hit early three-pointers in the second half to get the Knights within three at 32-29.

Senior Marcus Bult (Wheaton, Il./Wheaton Academy) then swished a three and was fouled on the play. The rare four-point play brought the Knights within one at 34-33.

Trinity's bench provided a counter-punch as the Bantams went on a 14-2 run to build a 48-36 lead. The Trinity lead bumped up to 16 at 55-39 with just over seven minutes left before the Knights made a late run.

Calvin went on a 13-4 run of its own, closing to within 59-52 and had a three-point attempt that would have brought the Knights within four but the shot was off the mark.

The Knights got within six at 60-54 on a pair of free throws by Varnado with 1:20 remaining. A pair of triples by sophomore Trevin Winkle (McBain, Mich./Northern Michigan Christian HS) allowed Calvin to get within six again but free throws and the clock proved to be to much for the Knights to overcome.

Varnado matched a career scoring high with 21 points with Winkle scoring 12 off the bench, Bult contributing 11 points and 10 boards and Ressler nine points. Senior Uchenna Egekeze (Huntley, Il./Huntley HS) had six points, eight rebounds, five assists and a blocked shot. Sophomore Jalen Overway (Holland, Mich./Holland Christian HS) contributed 10 rebounds and six assists.

Calvin held a 47-42 rebounding advantage and limited Trinity to 34.8 percent field goal shooting but the Knights shot just 30.0 percent from the floor overall and committed 16 turnovers while the Bantams turned the ball over just three times.

Calvin is now 4-3 all-time in NCAA III Quarterfinal games. The Knights have now made 23 NCAA III Tournament appearances and are 39-25 all-time in tournament play.

Calvin's 25 wins marks its highest win total since the 2012-13 season when it went 26-4.