PROVIDENCE, R.I.—The Norwich University men's basketball team overcame a 43-25 halftime deficit and outscored the host Wildcats of Johnson & Wales University (R.I.) 36-22 in the second half, but their efforts fell short as the Wildcats escaped with a 65-61 win in Saturday's Great Northeast Athletic Conference action.

With the loss, the Cadets fall to 3-1 1overall and 1-6 in GNAC action, while the win boosts the Wildcats to 11-4 overall and 7-1 in league play. Earlier this season, the two teams battled in a double-overtime thriller, which JWU ultimately won, 96-93.

Sophomore Quarry Greenaway tallied a double-double with 19 points and 10 rebounds for Johnson & Wales.  Senior guard Curtis Lucas tallied 13 points and three assists while senior Esaie Touze was also in double-figures with 11 points for the Wildcats.

Norwich was led by sophomore Gary Gladden (Boynton Beach, Fla.) with 17 points while senior Nickolai Havoutis (Coral Gables, Fla.) and junior Evan Tullar (Chelsea, Vt.) each chipped in 13 points in the loss for the Cadets.

Johnson & Wales opened the game on a 10-2 run, and extended that lead to 18-5 on a layup by Touze with just over 11 minutes left in the first half. The Wildcats led by as many as 18 in the stanza and took the 43-25 advantage heading into the locker room at halftime.  JWU forced 10 turnovers in the first half, and held Norwich to just 29 percent (7-24) from the field.

Norwich chipped away at the lead throughout the second half and a three-pointer by Havoutis cut the deficit to single digits, 58-49, for the first time in the second half.  The Cadets continued to cut into the lead and a layup by Gladden made the score 63-61 with 32 seconds remaining. Lucas then hit a pair of free throws to seal the 65-61 victory for JWU.

Norwich connected on 37.0 percent (20-54) of shots from the floor over the full 40 minutes, while JWU hit 53.2 percent (25-47) of shots. The Cadets scored 17 points at the free-throw line in 19 attempts, while the Wildcats hit just 10-15 from the charity stripe.

The Cadets held an advantage in points scored off turnovers (16-9), but the Wildcats bench outscored the Norwich bench 20-7.

Norwich is back in action on Monday, Jan. 20 when it hosts Mount Ida College on in a 7:30 p.m. GNAC matchup.