MEN'S BASKETBALL
 |  |
Men's Basketball: Norwich Earns 74-62 Victory Over Mount Ida
NORTHFIELD, Vt. - Mike Filipek led all scorers with a season-high 16 points, and Joshua Cabrera chipped in 14 points to lead the Norwich University men's basketball team past Mount Ida, 74-62, in a Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) game Thursday evening at Andrews Hall.
Filipek played a solid all-around game, adding seven rebounds and four assists to go along with his game-high point total. Robert Thurman and Jaren Jeffcoat each added 10 points apiece for the Cadets, while Darell Marshall posted eight points and four assists.
Norwich (6-16, 4-11 GNAC) shot a blistering 51.9 percent from the floor in the second half to pull away from Mount Ida (9-12, 3-11 GNAC). The victory, Norwich's first since late January, moves the Cadets past the Mustangs and into eighth place in the GNAC standings. The top eight teams qualify for the league's postseason tournament.
Norwich dominated the lane, outscoring Mount Ida 50-20 in the paint. The Cadets held a commanding 49-32 rebounding edge in the contest.
The Cadets used a 9-2 spurt over a span of 2:57 midway through the second half to turn a tenuous 52-49 lead at the 8:17 mark into a 61-51 advantage with 5:20 to play. The Mustangs got no closer than seven points the rest of the way as the Cadets held on for the win.
The first half was a hotly-contested 20 minutes of action that featured four ties and eight lead changes. Otis Thompson started out hot for Mount Ida, scoring 11 of the Mustangs' first 13 points and helping the visitors to a 13-10 lead at the 12:54 mark. Four points by Filipek helped spark a quick 6-0 spurt for Norwich as the Cadets took a 16-13 lead with 10:43 to play before halftime. Mount Ida used a 12-4 run over the next several minutes to take its largest lead of the stanza at 25-20 at the 5:49 mark. Norwich held Mount Ida without a field goal for the final 5:49, and ended the frame on a 12-3 run to carry a 32-28 advantage into the intermission.
Thompson led all scorers in the first half with 13 points on 5-of-6 shooting. Filipek paced the Cadets in the opening half with 10 points, while Thurman added eight. NU dominated the interior during the first half, outrebounding Mount Ida, 28-18, and outscoring the Mustangs in the paint, 26-10.
The Cadets outscored the Mustangs, 14-7, over the first eight minutes of the second half to open up a 46-35 lead with 11:59 to play. Four three-pointers helped fuel a 14-6 run by Mount Ida that closed the gap to 52-49 at the 8:20 mark. A triple by Tim Fico helped ignite the Cadets' 9-2 run that ultimately decided the game.
Thompson led Mount Ida with a team-high 15 points. Matt Bennett and Johrone Bunch each chipped in 13 points apiece for the Mustangs, who have dropped four games in a row.
For the game, Norwich shot 47.6 percent from the field, compared to 34.4 percent for Mount Ida. The Cadets' bench outscored the Mustangs' reserves, 30-11.
Norwich returns to action on Saturday, Feb. 14, when the Cadets host GNAC rival Johnson & Wales at Andrews Hall at 1 p.m. The two teams met on Jan. 31, in Providence, R.I., with the Wildcats earning a 72-63 victory.
