Tabb, the NESCAC's leading scorer, was responsible for the last of many clutch shots in a contest between two of the NESCAC's strongest teams.
While still likely to make the postseason NESCAC Tournament, Amherst has been all but eliminated from having any chance at a share of the regular season NESCAC crown.
The Jeffs seemed to have the game secured at the end of regulation, as tri-captain Pat Taverna '02 stole the ball from a Trinity player with Amherst up three points with three seconds to play.
But Taverna was unable to gain comfortable possession of the ball and was whistled for an important traveling violation before he could call a timeout.
On the ensuing inbounds play, Amherst elected not to foul and Trinity's freshman guard John Halas was thus able to hit a contested three with 1.8 seconds to play to send the game into overtime.
"I'll second guess myself on that decision not to foul Trinity at the end of the game to kingdom come," said coach Dave Hixon.
But to his credit, Hixon's squad did not give up despite Halas' heartbreaking triple.
At the 30 second mark in the first overtime, the game was tied and the Jeffs had possession of the ball for a last-shot opportunity. Amherst was actually able to take three shots during this time span, but none went in.
A three pointer by tri-captain Steve Zieja '03, who led the Jeffs in scoring with 34 points, tied the score at 95 late in the second overtime and sent the game to the decisive third overtime period.
As with the previous overtime, the final overtime contest found the Jeffs down three late in the last five minutes of play.
This time, though, it seemed like Amherst would be unable to keep up with Trinity as several would-be game-tying threes by the Jeffs fell short of the mark.
But with 25 seconds to play, Lady Luck smiled on Amherst as a Zieja three-point attempt from the corner miraculously hit the front of the rim, then the backboard before making its unlikely way through the hoop.
With the game tied at 107 and the clock winding down, the sizeable crowd at LeFrak was on its feet anticipating quadruple overtime. Tabb's subsequent three-pointer quickly silenced the crowd.
Surprisingly, Zieja was able to get a relatively good look at a game-tying triple as time expired, but his shot fell short.
"This game left a bad taste in everyone's mouth," said Zieja. "[But] I think we will respond to it in the right way."
Andrew Schiel '05 continued his rapid development, pouring in a career high 22 points, while Pat Fitzsimons '03 had 26 points and 17 rebounds.
At 2-3 in NESCAC play, the Jeffs will probably have to win the rest of their league games in order for Amherst to host a NESCAC Tournament game at LeFrak Gymnasium.
The Lord Jeffs will go on the road this weekend in crucial NESCAC tilts against the Little III rival Wesleyan University Cardinals and Connecticut College Camels.