Men's Basketball Drops First GNAC Game of the Season, 81-77 to Norwich

THE BASICS 

Score: 
Norwich 81 – Emmanuel 77

Records: 
Emmanuel College Saints (15-5, 11-1 GNAC)
Norwich University Cadets (11-9, 5-7 GNAC)

Location: Boston, Mass. – Jean Yawkey Center / Andy Yosinoff Court

Date: Tuesday, January 31, 2023

THE LEAD – Emmanuel men's basketball had not lost on home court since Nov. 22, 2022, until tonight's 81-77 loss to Norwich University, in Great Northeast Athletic Conference play. The loss hands the Saints their first GNAC loss of the season, breaks a nine-game winning streak for the Saints, and stops a seven-game home winning streak on Yosinoff Court.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Emmanuel trailed by 10 at the half but came out of the locker room with a quick start, erasing that double-digit deficit in the opening minutes. The Saints started the second half on a 13-2 run over the opening 5:16, giving them a one-point lead. Junior Ryan Grijalva (Stratham, N.H.) scored the first six Saints points of the run while senior Ricky Martin (Sicklerville, N.J.) scored the following seven, helping EC to a 50-49 edge.
• The Saints lead would be short-lived as Norwich struck back immediately with eight straight points, reestablishing a multi-possession lead at 57-50. Those eight points over 2:56 were part of an even larger Cadets run of 17-4, that would again put NU ahead by a dozen, this time at 66-54 with 5:35 remaining.
• EC wouldn't go quietly in surrendering their perfect conference record, fighting back to one possession following a 15-6 spurt to cut the deficit to 72-69 with 1:12 remaining. The Saints got within two in the final 32 seconds, but nearly perfect foul shooting by Cadets junior Jalen Olivero (Holyoke, Mass.), who shot 7-of-8 from the line in the last 26 seconds, would help Norwich see out the victory, 81-77.
• After a back-and-forth opening nine minutes had the Saints and Cadets tied 14-14, it was the Norwich offense that would hold the momentum over the last 10:26 of the opening half. An NU 15-3 run would over the span of 4:42, in the middle of the first half, would open their largest lead of the first, 29-17. Five different Cadets scored in the run that had Norwich ahead by a dozen.
• Norwich would hold a 12-point lead four more times in the final 6:44 of the first, but the last points of the half belonged to the Saints on a layup by Grijalva, which cut the deficit to 47-37, at the break. The Cadets shot 58.3 percent (21-of-36) from the field, including 4-for-6 shooting from the perimeter, to lead by 10 at halftime.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

• Olivero finished with a team-high 22 points including 7-of-14 from the floor and 8-for-10 shooting from the line.
• Sophomore Kohlby Murray (Fair Haven, Vt.) added 15 points on 6-for-12 shooting, including 2-of-3 from beyond the arc.
• First-year Joe Joe DuBrul (Shelburne, Vt.) chipped in with a dozen points while grad student Donovan Lewis Jr. (Savannah, Ga.) finished with 10 points.
• Martin led all scorers with a career-high 27 points, shooting a red-hot 11-for-15 overall, including 5-of-8 from three-point distance.
• Grijalva added 16 points, eight rebounds, and four assists, in his 25 minutes, off the bench.
• Sophomore Walker Baillargeon (Norwich, Conn.) matched his career-best with 10 points over 14 minutes.

UP NEXT

• The Saints hit the road on Saturday, Feb. 4, traveling to Johnson & Wales for GNAC play, set for 3:00 p.m.
• The Cadets head back home to host Colby-Sawyer in GNAC action on Thursday, Feb. 2, at 7:00 p.m.