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Men's Basketball: Norwich Drops GNAC Opener At St. Joseph's (Maine), 58-52
STANDISH, Maine - The Norwich University men's basketball team opened its 2008-09 Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) schedule on Wednesday evening, dropping a 58-52 decision to St. Joseph's (Maine).
Tyler Kelley scored a game-high 22 points for the Monks, who improve to 4-1 (1-0 GNAC). Chris Davis chipped in 10 points, and Ray Eatmon contributed nine points and a team-high 13 rebounds.
Norwich (1-5, 0-1 GNAC) was led by freshman forward Robert Thurman, who registered his first career double-double with a team-high 13 points and 13 rebounds. Fellow freshman Antonio Davis had a huge game as well, producing his second double-double of the young season with 10 points and a game-high 17 rebounds. Freshman guard Joshua Cabrera added eight points and a team-high four assists off the bench for the Cadets.
St. Joseph's (Maine) started the game by outscoring Norwich 11-4 over the first 5:48. Four quick points by the Cadets trimmed the Monks' lead down to 11-8 at the 10:47 mark. St. Joseph's (Maine) built its lead back up to seven points at 15-8 at the 10:00 mark, but a 9-2 spurt by NU made it an 18-17 game with 6:18 to play before halftime. The Monks ended the first half on a 9-3 run to take a 27-20 lead into the intermission.
St. Joseph's (Maine) outscored Norwich, 10-5, to begin the second stanza, opening its largest lead of the game at 37-25 at the 13:24 mark. Nine unanswered points by the Cadets drew the visitors to within three at 37-34 with 9:46 to play in the second half. The Monks responded with an 8-2 burst over the next 1:26 to establish a 45-36 advantage at the 8:20 mark. A three-pointer by Norwich freshman guard Andrew Menzie drew NU to within 45-39, but St. Joseph's (Maine) used a 10-4 run to open up a 55-43 lead with 2:32 to play.
The Cadets refused to go away, however, staging a dramatic 9-0 run over a span of 1:41 to pull to within 55-52 with just 51 seconds on the clock. Norwich was unable to get any closer, though, as the Monks held on for the six-point victory.
Norwich outrebounded St. Joseph's (Maine), 53-42, but the Cadets committed 23 turnovers in the game. The Monks only turned it over 10 times, which helped make up for their 31.0 percent shooting from the field.
Norwich returns to the friendly confines of Andrews Hall this weekend (Dec. 6-7) when the Cadets host the Ed Hockenbury Classic. Norwich will face St. Joseph's (Vt.) in its first round game on Saturday at 6 p.m. The Cadets will then play either Colby-Sawyer or Worcester State on Sunday afternoon. The consolation game is set for 1 p.m., with the championship contest to follow at 3 p.m.
