Box Score 

NORTHFIELD, Vt. - Junior G Cori Boston poured in a game-high 23 points and hauled down a team-best nine rebounds, and junior G/F Jaren Jeffcoat scored 16 points and snared eight boards to help the Norwich University men's basketball team defeat Emmanuel College, 85-74, in a Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) contest Tuesday evening at Andrews Hall.

Freshman G Ryan Williams added 15 points off the bench for Norwich (10-6, 5-4 GNAC), which closed the game on a 16-5 run to pull away from the pesky Saints. Sophomore F Antonio Davis played a solid all-around game for NU, posting 11 points, six rebounds and four blocked shots.

Isaiah Duke paced Emmanuel (3-13, 2-7 GNAC) with a team-high 17 points and a game-high 14 rebounds. Xavier Everson added 15 points for the Saints, while Tony Carter-Hill chipped in 13 off the bench.

Norwich led 43-29 at halftime, but Emmanuel opened the second half on a 10-2 run to trim NU's advantage down to 45-39 less than five minutes into the stanza. A tip-in by junior G/F Quincy Williams and a free throw by senior F Israel Guardado extended Norwich's lead to 48-39 moments later, but a 6-2 burst by the Saints made the score 50-45 at the 12:53 mark.

Consecutive lay-ups by Jeffcoat and Davis helped Norwich push its lead back up to nine points (56-47) two minutes later, but a jumper by Michael Mailhot and a three-pointer by Andrew Heath drew Emmanuel to within 56-52 with 9:03 remaining in the half. A pair of three-pointers by Ryan Williams ignited a 6-2 Norwich run, which gave the hosts a 62-54 advantage at the 6:46 mark. Emmanuel answered with a three-pointer by Armani Gill and two more triples by Carter-Hill to reel off a 16-7 run and take a 70-69 lead with 3:42 left on the clock.

Norwich responded on its ensuing possession as Jeffcoat converted an old-fashioned three-point play to put the Cadets on top for good, 72-70. After a missed lay-up by Carter-Hill, Davis buried a huge three-pointer out of the right corner to push NU's lead to 75-70. A lay-up by Duke made it 75-72, but the Saints would get no closer as Norwich made 10-of-14 free throws in the final 1:30 to secure the victory.

The Cadets started the game on fire, sinking five of their first eight shots to jump out to a 12-0 lead at the 15:33 mark of the first half. Emmanuel roared back with a 9-2 spurt over the next five minutes to trim Norwich's lead to 14-9 with 9:54 to play in the half. NU scored the next eight points to move in front 22-9 two minutes later, and the Cadets' lead never dipped below double digits for the remainder of the half. A driving lay-up by Ryan Williams just before the first half buzzer gave the Cadets a 43-29 lead at the intermission.

Boston and Jeffcoat led Norwich in the first half with 11 points apiece. The Cadets shot a blistering 51.4 percent (18-of-35) from the field in the first half, including 57.1 percent (4-of-7) from three-point range.

For the game, Norwich shot 43.8 percent (28-of-64) from the floor, including a red-hot 72.7 percent (8-of-11) from downtown. Emmanuel, meanwhile, hit 43.1 percent (31-of-72) of its shots from the floor, and 47.1 percent (8-of-17) from behind the arc. The Cadets held a significant edge at the free throw line, converting 21-of-31 attempts compared to 4-of-14 for the Saints.

Norwich returns to action on Thursday, Jan. 28, when the Cadets travel to Nashua, N.H., to battle GNAC rival Rivier College at 7:30 p.m. Norwich blitzed the Raiders, 71-46, earlier this season.