Jan. 15, 2009

Box Score

NORTHFIELD, Vt. - Freshman guard Isaiah Duke (Albany, N.Y.) scored all of his game-high 17 points in the second half to lead visiting Emmanuel to a 79-68 victory over Norwich University in a Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) men's basketball game Thursday evening at Andrews Hall. With the win, Emmanuel evens its record at 6-6 on the season and improves to 3-2 in conference play, while Norwich drops to 3-9 overall and 1-4 in the GNAC.

Senior forward Mack Spellman (Clinton, N.Y.) added 16 points and a game-high nine rebounds for the Saints. Senior guard Rob Williams-Hinton (Oak Park, Mich.) chipped in 12 points for Emmanuel, while sophomore forward Tyrone Buchanan (Detroit, Mich.) rounded out four Saints scoring in double-figures with 10 points on the night. The Saints shot a red-hot 61.3% from the field in the second half to turn a one-point halftime deficit into an 11-point win.

Norwich was led by Joshua Cabrera, who tallied a team-high 14 points. Antonio Davis contributed 12 points, and Robert Thurman scored nine for the Cadets, who have dropped two straight games.

Emmanuel started the second half on a 17-6 run, turning a 32-31 halftime deficit into a 48-38 lead at the 15:05 mark. The Cadets got no closer than eight points the rest of the way, as the Saints went on to the victory.

The first half went back and forth throughout, with the teams combining for six ties and nine lead changes in the opening stanza. Emmanuel got off to a nice start, taking a 15-6 lead at the 14:32 mark. The Saints led 18-10 at the 12:47 mark, but a 9-0 Norwich run gave the Cadets their first lead of the game at 19-18 with 9:58 to play before halftime. The game see-sawed back and forth over the final 10 minutes of the frame, with the Cadets taking a 32-31 lead into the intermission.

Emmanuel shot 48.5 percent for the game (32-66) , while Norwich hit 41.9 percent of its shots (26-62). The Saints out-rebounded the Cadets, 40-34, and forced 24 Norwich turnovers. Both teams return to action on Saturday, Jan. 17th. Norwich will travel to New Haven, Conn., to take on GNAC rival Albertus Magnus at 3 p.m. Emmanuel will host the defending GNAC Champion Lasers of Lasell College in a 1pm tip.