Norwich; Lewis Jr. Sinks Saints on Senior Day, 61-60

THE BASICS 

Score: 
Emmanuel College, 60
Norwich University, 61

Records: 
Emmanuel College Saints (13-7, 9-5 GNAC)
Norwich University Cadets (11-10, 6-7 GNAC)

Location: Boston, Mass. – JYC Gymnasium/Andy Yosinoff Court

Date: Wednesday, February 9, 2022

THE LEAD – Senior forward Donovan Lewis Jr. (Savannah, Ga.) drained a pair of free throws with 1.5 seconds left in regulation to lift Norwich University past host Emmanuel, 61-60, Wednesday evening in Great Northeast Athletic Conference men's basketball action in Boston, Mass.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• The Cadets trailed 52-46 after a layup by EC sophomore forward Eljay Morris (London, England) with 6:42 to play before rattling off 11 straight points capped by a layup by senior Kyle Booth (Northfield, Vt.) to swing momentum and give NU a 57-52 lead with 2:22 to play.
• Threes on consecutive possessions by Emmanuel sophomore guard Ryan Grijalva (Stratham, N.H.) and graduate student Zachary Crisafulli (East Hampton, Mass.) cut the hosts deficit with one at 59-58 with 1:29 to play and following a defensive stop, Emmanuel regained the lead at 60-59 on a backdoor layup by junior Ted Weber (Orange, Conn.) with 28 seconds remaining.
• Following a pair of Norwich timeouts and Emmanuel fouls, the Cadets found themselves with possession on the inbound under their own hoop with six seconds to go. Good defense forced a long inbound to the top of the key and first year guard Kohlby Murray (Fair Haven, Vt.) drove to the hoop before dishing it off to Lewis Jr. On the way up for the win, Lewis Jr. was fouled in the act of shooting for a chance at the win. He calmly drained the first to tie the score at 60-all and then after an Emmanuel timeout, returned to the stripe and silenced a raucous Emmanuel crowd with the game-winning freebie with 1.5 seconds to play.
• Norwich led by as many as 12 in the opening stanza (16-4 @ 11:19) before Emmanuel closed the half on a 21-8 tear to take a 25-24 lead into the break.
• A 5-0 spurt by the Saints to start the second half opened the lead to 30-24 before the Cadets battled back to regain the lead at 37-35 on a Murray three, setting the stage for the late game heroics.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

• Lewis Jr. finished the night with a game-high 20 points, going a perfect 6-for-6 from the charity stripe while sophomore guard Jalen Olivero (Holyoke, Mass.) added 17 points and team-best six rebounds, four assists and four steals.
• EC sophomore Donte Pope (Middletown, Mass.) paced EC with a double-double of 15 points and 11 rebounds. Crisafulli added 13 points and five boards.
• The Saints shot a dismal 7.1% from behind the arc in the opening stanza (1-for-14) but turned it around in the second half going 5-for-12 from distance (41.7%).
• For just the second time all season, Emmanuel was held to a single-digit assist total (8) in the defeat.
• The Saints out-rebounded the Cadets by a 40-29 margin and also won the battle of the benches, outscoring the NU reserves by an 18-4 difference.
• Over the course the action a crowd on 295 fans saw four tied scores and 10 total lead changes in the one-point decision in favor of Norwich.
• The victory was the 350th career coaching win for NU Head Coach Paul Booth.

OF NOTE

• Prior to the start of Wednesday's game, the Saints men's basketball program honored the graduating class of players that included Crisafulli, Dakota Wheeler (Easthampton, Mass.), Devin Pulsifer (Winthrop, Mass.) and Giovanni Ciampa (Tewksbury, Mass.).

UP NEXT

• Both squads return to action on Saturday, February 12. The Saints head to West Hartford, Conn. to face the No. 7 University of Saint Joseph Blue Jays at 3:00 PM while the Cadets host Dean College in Northfield, Vt. for the program's Senior Day at 3:00 PM.