BUTTERBRODT BOOSTS SAINTS TO FOURTH STRAIGHT GNAC WIN

NORTHFIELD, Vt. – The Norwich University men's basketball team lost a heartbreaker to Emmanuel College, 73-70, in Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Tuesday evening.

Emmanuel picked up its fourth straight GNAC victory to improve to 7-8 in the league and 7-15 overall, while Norwich falls to 3-11 in GNAC play and 6-15 on the year.

Sophomore guard Zygimantas Sirvydas (Silale, Lithuania) posted a team-high 14 points with six rebounds, while classmate Mike Hogervorst (Leiden, Netherlands) added 15 points, seven rebounds and a block for the Maroon & Gold. Sophomore Ryan Fitzgerald (Winchester, Mass.) came off the bench putting up 13 points with a steal and a pair of assists, while classmate Ryan Booth (Northfield, Vt.) contributed 11 points and pulled down four rebounds.

Emmanuel's Max Butterbrodt (North Andover, Mass.) led the Saints' scoring with 16 points off the bench along with the four rebounds and a pair of assists. Sophomore Alex Minetti (Wakefield, R.I.) and junior Matt Raine (Miami, Fla.) each added 12 points, while senior John Clay (Westport, Mass.) contributed 11 points with six rebounds, two steals, two assists and a block on the night.

The Cadets rallied from a 16 point deficit at the half to trail 71-67 before senior Alex Preckol (Westford, Mass.) drilled in a trey to make a one-point game with 16 seconds left. Emmanuel's John Clay (Westport, Mass.) would hit a pair of shots from the charity stripe to extend the Saints' lead to three with 10 seconds. Norwich drove the ball down the court as Booth pulled the trigger from the behind the arc, only to watch it clang off the rim as the horn sounded to end the game.

Norwich and Emmanuel battled each other back-and-forth with the Saints in the lead the entire first half. The Cadets trailed by just five points, 27-22, at the 5:20 mark until the Saints went on an 8-0 stretch after Minetti nailed a pair of threes with a jumper by freshman Will Jessup (Westwood, Mass.) in between to make it 35-25. The Saints would add on seven more points to the Cadets' one to lead 41-26 at the break.

Norwich stormed back into the single digit margin early in the second half with a 14-5 run in less than three minutes to trail by seven, 47-40. Emmanuel pushed its lead out to 10 twice in the stanza but the Cadets, trailing 68-56 at the 5:54 mark, caught up to the Saints after Fitzgerald hit all four free throw attempts followed by a Preckol layup to make it a four-point game. Clay would hit both of his free throws for Emmanuel but the Cadets would make a pair of three-pointers along with a Booth layup for the 71-70 score. Clay would close out the contest with another pair of free throws for Emmanuel before Norwich succumbed on the last effort attempt to tie up the game.

The Cadets shot just 33.3 percent (9-27) in the first half but improved in the second by hitting 48.5 percent from the floor to finish night shooting 41.7 percent. Emmanuel shot 56.7 percent (17-30) in the first half but struggled slightly with just 41.2 percent of its shots going through the basket. The Saints managed to finish the night hitting 51.1 percent from the field.

The Saints return home for Senior Day on Saturday, Feb. 9 as Anna Maria visits EC for a 3:00 p.m. start.

~ RELEASE COURTESY OF NORWICH ATHLETICS ~