HENNIKER, NH – The Norwich University men's basketball wrapped up the 2020-21 season this afternoon with a 94-89 non-conference loss to New England College on Sunday afternoon. 

The Cadets close out the season having made tremendous improvements all over the court despite their 0-8 record.

Norwich opened the game with another quality start as it was able to get on the board first and maintain the lead. The Cadets remained hot from the floor throughout the first half shooting 56.3 percent as a team, including a 44.4 percent mark from three-point range. The visitors would be able to maintain the slimmest of leads through the six and a half minutes of the game before NEC tied the game at 16-16 after a three-pointer by Jamal Allen.

Back-to-back threes by senior Jesse Davis (Woodinville, Wash.) and junior Spencer Conatser (Reno, Nev.) opened up a six-point lead at 22-16 just a minute later.

An offensive putback by junior Donovan Lewis Jr. (Savannah, Ga.) would extend the Cadets' lead to 26-18 at the midway mark of the first half.

A 5-0 run by NEC including a three-pointer by Kareen Octavien and a layup by Calvin Cheek cut the lead to 32-31 at the 6:15 mark and forced the Cadets to take a timeout.

Allen finally was able to square the score at 38-38 making the front end of a pair of free throws with 2:15 remaining before junior Tayjaun McKenzie (Boston, Mass.) and junior Caleb Casinas (Aiea, Hawaii) resurrected Norwich's five-point lead with a layup and three-pointer to end the half at 45-40.

The teams battled back and forth to start the second half. A dunk by Lewis Jr. followed by a layup from Casinas had the visitors leading 61-55 at the 13:04 mark.

NEC immediately followed up that run with a 7-0 run of its own capped by a layup by Deven Okowuga to gain its first lead since the early stages of the game, 62-61 with 10:46 to play.

The Cadets would quickly regain the lead before New England College would go on an 11-0 run for a 75-67 lead with just under seven minutes to play. The Pilgrims were able to carry that momentum and held an 86-75 lead with three minutes to play. 

Norwich then came to life as it went on an 8-2 run with some strong defensive play to cut the lead to 88-83 with 1:41 to go. The Cadets continued to press but couldn't reduce the lead to fewer than five points the rest of the way. 

Cheek (13 points, 11 rebounds) and Stephen Fama (17 points, 11 rebounds) each had a double-double while Allen led the Pilgrims' scoring effort with 22 points as he shot 66.7 percent from the field. 

Norwich's Davis made the most of his last game of the season leading the Cadets with 24 points on 9-of-19 from the field, including six three-pointers, seven rebounds, three assists, and three steals. Lewis Jr. was his usual efficient self, pouring in 14 points while adding eight rebounds. The Cadets received great contributions from their reserves as Conatser and freshman Jarontez Garrett (Atlanta, Ga.) netted 14 and 12 points, respectively with Garrett also tacking on six assists to his line.