Norwich Handles Men’s Basketball, 73-42

Norwich Handles Men’s Basketball, 73-42

NORTHFIELD, Vt. – Suffolk men's basketball suffered significant scoring lulls in both halves and Norwich took advantage to roll past the Rams, 73-42, Tuesday night in GNAC action inside Andrews Hall. 

THE BASICS
SCORE: Suffolk 42, Norwich 73
RECORDS: Suffolk (4-11, 3-5 GNAC) | Norwich (6-9, 3-5 GNAC) 

HOW IT HAPPENED
Similar to Suffolk's women's squad, which traveled to North Country for a MLK Day meeting with the Cadets, it took a while for the Rams' offense to get going. In the meantime, Norwich took advantage and gained a 17-0 cushion. 

Matt McLean put the Rams on the board at the 11:33 minute mark to begin Suffolk's comeback. The visitor's offense did not fully click until Jim Djema jump started an 11-2 Rams run with 3:51 to play before the break. The stretched features four from Djema and three apiece from Thomas Duffy and Michael Hagopian and shaved the hosts' advantage to just nine, 33-24, at the intermission. 

The opening of the second stanza mirrored the first frame with Suffolk unable to connect from the field for nearly six minutes. Once again Norwich took advantage, this time building an 18-point cushion that quickly escalated to 20-plus points, 52-31. 

Another scoring lapse from the Rams allowed the Cadets to build their lead even to as many as 38, 71-33, and walk away with the 73-42 triumph. 

STATISTICALLY SPEAKING

  • Duffy finished the night with nine points on a 75 percent connection rate from the floor and pulled down a team-best six rebounds.
  • Conor Reynolds matched Duffy's offensive output in just seven minutes. The freshman registered nien points, shooting 3-for-5 from the floor including a perfect 3-for-3 from long range. He added two rebounds to his effort.
  • Hagopian provided eight points for the Rams.
  • Norwich nearly doubled Suffolk's shooting percentage from the floor in the first half with the Cadets pouring in 60.9 (14-23) of their attempts compared to the Rams' going 9-for-26 for a 34.6 connection rate.
  • Suffolk finishd the night shooting 27.3 percent (15-55) from the field, 38.5 percent (10-26) from behind the arc and 40 percent (2-5) from the free throw line.
  • Norwich held the advantage on the glass, 35-28.

NOTEABLES

  • Off the bench in just seven minutes, Reynolds notched a career-best nine points to lead the Rams. 

POST-GAME PIC

WHAT'S NEXT?
Suffolk is back at Beacon Hill Saturday, Jan. 21 when the Rams welcome Mt. Ida for a rematch inside Regan Gymnasium. Game time is set for 3 p.m.