EMMANUEL DOWNS NORWICH, 69-57
Feb. 11, 2012
BOSTON, Mass. - The Emmanuel College Men's Basketball Team cruised to a 69-57 win over Norwich University on Saturday afternoon in the opening game of a Great Northeast Athletic Conference men's and women's double-header played in the Jean Yawkey Center. This was Emmanuel's second-straight conference victory. With the win, the Saints improve to 11-12 overall and pick up their tenth GNAC win of the season, at 10-6 in the conference. This was the sixth-straight loss for the Cadets, who now drop to 5-17 on the season and 4-12 in league play.
Emmanuel led end to end in the contest, coming out of the gates with intense pressure defense and holding the Cadets scoreless for the opening seven minutes of play. Consecutive jumpers on the break by Michael Mailhot (Norwich, Conn.) and Brandon Jones (Windsor, Conn.) gave the Saints an early 4-0 lead. A bucket from the wing by senior forward Isaiah Duke (Albany, N.Y.) put EC up six at the fifteen-minute mark. An and-one on a put-back by Duke then pushed it to 9-0, before Antonio Davis (Albany, N.Y.) ended the drought for the Cadets at 12:45.
A three-ball from Jones and a pair of freebies by Duke made it a 14-2 game and forced a full-timeout by the Cadets with 11:33 to go in the half. Norwich junior guard Josh Cabrera (Providence, R.I.) scored on the break and then dropped one from the stripe to bring the score to 16-5 at the nine-minute mark.
Norwich's Evan Tullar (Chelsea, Vt.) put in a follow-up to end a 10-5 run by the Saints, setting the score at 26-12 with 2:30 to go in the half. Mailhot buried a trey and Cabrera sank a runner at the other end, as the two teams entered the locker room at halftime with the Saints holding a commanding 29-14 lead.
Emmanuel held Norwich to just five first-half field goals, as the Cadets shot a dismal 23.8% (5-21) from the field in the opening frame. The Saints out-rebounded the Cadets, 22-18, and forced 15 Norwich turnovers.
Duke netted 9 points and hauled in 7 rebounds to lead the Saints in the first half. Jones added 7 points on perfect 3 for 3 shooting. Cabrera led the Cadets with 7 points, while Davis pulled in 6 first-half boards for Norwich.
The Saints carried their momentum into the second half and came out of the break on a 4-0 run, forcing a quick Norwich timeout with 18:42 on the clock. Emmanuel stretched the run to ten points, holding the Cadets scoreless through the first three minutes of second-half action. Sophomore guard Tom McDonald (Groton, Mass.) got the Cadets back on the board with a baseline three and set the score at 39-17, Saints.
EC held its solid double-figure lead throughout the half, with a hoop in the paint by Theo Robinson (Springfield, Mass.) giving the hosts a 61-42 advantage. Sophomore guard Cadeem Lewis (Bronx, N.Y.) came off the bench and buried a pull-up in the key to help the Saints pull away late in the game.
The Cadets applied some late full-court pressure and forced a couple Saints' turnovers, cutting the Emmanuel lead to 17, but an alley-oop from Connor Morgan (Chepachet, R.I.) to Robinson briefly swung the momentum back to the Saints. Norwich finished on a 13-4 run, but the Cadets were unable to overcome their early deficit and Emmanuel took away the 69-57 win.
Duke and Robinson paced the Saints with double-doubles. Duke hit for 14 points on 5 for 9 shooting, grabbed 14 rebounds and blocked 2 shots. Robinson netted 14 points and hauled in 10 boards. Jones finished with 11 points off of 5 for 6 shooting, while Xavier Everson (Rochester, N.Y.) chipped in with 10 points, 9 rebounds and 5 steals for the Saints.
McDonald led the Cadets with 14 points off of 4 for 8 shooting. Cabrera finished with 11 points, while Davis netted 8 points and grabbed a team high 14 rebounds in the effort.
Emmanuel has two remaining regular season contests, as the Saints seek to secure a home game in the upcoming GNAC Tournament. The Saints will travel to Lasell College on Tuesday night to take on the Lasers in a 7:00 PM start, before hosting the Mustangs of Mount Ida College on Saturday in Emmanuel's senior day.