STANDISH, Maine – Norwich University (9-5, 4-2 GNAC) defeated Saint Joseph's College (3-11, 2-4 GNAC), 85-75, in Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) men's basketball action on Mike McDevitt Court at the Harold Alfond Center on Saturday afternoon.
MILESTONE MET:
With a three-pointer at the 3:48 mark of the first half, senior guard Nicholas Curtis (Windham, Maine) hit the 1,000-point milestone on the mark and became the 43rd player in program history to reach the plateau. He is the first SJC player to net his 1,000th point since former teammate Jack Casale '21 did so on November 26th, 2019.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
The Monks trailed by as many as 11 points in the first half, but rallied late in the opening stanza and headed into intermission riding an 8-0 run with the score tied, 36-36.
St. Joe's maintained the momentum early in the second period with a 9-1 scoring surge en route to securing a 45-37 cushion just 1:13 into the closing half. Unfortunately for the hosts, the lead quickly evaporated as the visitors registered 23-7 run to claim an eight-point (60-52) lead of their own with 13:17 remaining.
As it played out, the Cadets led for the remainder of the contest, although the Monks were able to cut their deficit to three points on several occasions. Costly turnovers and foul trouble proved to be too much to overcome in the setback as Norwich held the Monks scoreless for the final 2:25 minutes.
STATS OF THE GAME:
The Cadets scored 23 points off 18 SJC turnovers and overcame a paltry 43.5% (10-23) free-throw shooting performance by making 54.0% (34-63) of their shots from the floor…Norwich also held a 44-30 lead in points in the paint with a 26-3 bench points advantage.
LEADERS – SAINT JOSEPH'S:
- Senior guard Griffin Foley (Portland, Maine) scored a game-high 29 points with five assists, three rebounds, and two steals
- Junior forward Drew Shea (Mount Desert Island, Maine) notched a double-double with 18 points and 11 rebounds
- Curtis capped the game with 14 points, five assists, and three boards
LEADERS – NORWICH:
- Senior guard Kyle Booth (Northfield, Vt.) led four Cadets in double digits with 19 points and added five boards, two assists, and a pair of steals
- Senior guard Samuel-Noah Osarenkhoe (Stockholm, Sweden) chipped in with 14 points
- Senior forward Donovan Lewis Jr. (Savannah, Ga.) tallied 13 points, s ix rebounds, and two assists
- Junior forward Jaydon Cousin (Savannah, Ga.) came off the bench to score 10 points with four caroms
HISTORICALLY SPEAKING:
With the loss, Saint Joseph's falls to 20-6 all-time versus Norwich University and – with a 77-74 setback in their last meeting (February 1st, 2020) has dropped two games in a row to the Cadets for the first time in the history of the series.
NEXT!
Saint Joseph's will host GNAC-rival Anna Maria College at 7:30 PM on Tuesday evening. As a friendly reminder, spectators are not allowed at SJC home events through January 31st. This pandemic-related policy will be reviewed for home events beyond this date in the coming weeks.
