NORTHFIELD, Vt.—The Norwich University men's basketball team overcame an 11-point deficit at halftime to force overtime and take the 86-79 non-conference win against Colby-Sawyer College on Tuesday evening at Andrews Hall. With the win, the Cadets improve to 2-2 on the season, while the visiting Chargers remain winless and fall to 0-3. 

The Cadets would trail 41-30 at halftime but would outscore the Chargers 39-28 in the second half to tie the score at 69-69 at the end of regulation.  Norwich shot an impressive 50 percent from the floor and 56 percent from behind the three-point arc in the second half, connecting for 15 field goals in 30 attempts with nine of those field goals coming from three-point range.

The Cadets trailed by as much as 15 points in the second half, but went on a 17-3 run to tie the score at 56-56 with 8:17 left to play in regulation.  The Cadets would take their first lead of the second half on a three-pointer by Tom McDonald (Groton, Mass.)  at the 7:47 mark.  The Cadets would lead by as much as six in the following minutes, but the Chargers would fight back to tie the game at 69-69 with 16 seconds left.

Norwich would open the five-minute overtime period with a three-point basket by Josh Cabrera (Providence, R.I.).  Evan Tullar (Chelsea, Vt.) would force a turnover and record the steal on the Chargers trip down the floor and return it for a layup to put the Cadets up by five points.

The Chargers would cut Norwich's overtime lead to three points with 2:45 to play, but the Cadets responded with another three-point basket by McDonald to reclaim the six-point advantage.  A free-throw by Nickolai Havoutis (Coral Springs, Fla.) with 10 seconds remaining clinched the seven-point victory for the Cadets.

McDonald connected for seven three-pointers en route to a game-high 24 points. Cabrera aided the Cadets' offense with 21 points, while Havoutis contributed a season-high 16 points and dished out a game-high eight assists.

Colby-Sawyer was led by Koanh Thok with 21 points and Mike Dias with 16.  The Chargers also saw double-digit performances from Paul Holland and Corey Willis, who totaled 14 and 12 points, respectively.

Norwich returns to action on Saturday when it hosts Mitchell College at 6:00 p.m. in the first men's basketball game of the 2012 Hockenbury Classic.