Northfield, Vt.—The Cadets utilized a strong-second half shooting performance to turn a fifteen point halftime deficit into a five point come-from-behind victory Saturday night at Andrews Hall in the opening round of the Ed Hockenbury Classic.

The Cadets 73-68 victory over Mitchell College marks the second time this week that Norwich had to overcome a double-digit deficit at halftime to win. Norwich trailed 41-30 against Colby-Sawyer on Tuesday at the break, only to win 86-79.

Norwich (3-2) got out to 12-5 lead just over four minutes into the game after a three-point basket by Josh Cabrera (Providence, R.I.) and a layup by Evan Tullar (Chelsea, Vt.) but Mitchell propelled itself to a 25-15 lead with a 20-3 run midway through the half.

Joshua Ford scored 22 points in the first half for the Mariners and staked Mitchell out to a 45-30 lead at the end of one.

The Cadets made several defensive adjustments at the half, limiting Ford to just nine second-half points and Tom McDonald (Groton, Mass.) hit four three-pointers in the half's first five minutes to bring the Cadets to within six at 49-43.

The Mariners answered back with a mini-run to go up 54-46 before the Cadets took a 55-54 lead with 9:11 remaining after layups by Jimmy Warden (North Andover, Mass.) and Cabrera, a jumper by Tullar and a three-point basket by Cabrera once more.

The last nine minutes were a back-and-forth affair that saw three ties and two lead changes.

With the score tied at 64 apiece and 2:42 to play, the Cadets took the lead for good when Brandon Kuhre (Lebanon, N.H.) hit a layup to put the Cadets up two. A Warden free throw gave the Cadets a 67-64 lead before Ford scored on a tough shot in the lane to cut the lead to one at 67-66.

McDonald hit a layup to give the Cadets a 69-66 lead and free throws by Nickolai Havoutis (Coral Springs, Fla.) iced the game for Norwich.

McDonald scored 22 points on 8-17 shooting while Cabrera poured in 21 and added nine rebounds. Havoutis was the third Cadet in double-figures with 10. The Cadets shot 48 percent as a team in the second half.

Norwich will play Sunday at 3 p.m. against the winner of the Saturday nightcap between Wesleyan and Babson.

--CADETS--