NORTHFIELD, Vt. – The Norwich University men's basketball team led NVU-Lyndon by two points at halftime, but was unable the convert the halftime advantage into a victory falling to the Hornets 99-83 at Andrews Gym on Saturday afternoon.

Norwich (0-3) started the game off strong stealing the first pass of the game allowing junior Donovan Lewis Jr. (Savannah, Ga.) to waltz down the court and throw down a dunk for the first points of the contest.

After trading baskets with NVU-Lyndon (4-5) over the first few minutes, the Cadets broke away from a 6-6 tie by generating a 10-2 run over the course of a three-minute span to take an early 16-8 lead.

Back-to-back layups by the Hornets' sophomore Peyton Olsen first tied the game at 18-18 and then gave the visitors the lead at 20-18 with 11:19 to play.

With the score knotted at 25-25, Cadets' senior Kyle Booth (Northfield, Vt.) capped an 8-0 run with a three-pointer to put the hosts back in front 33-25 with 6:42 on the clock. NVU-Lyndon responded with an 8-0 run of its own as Olsen brought the visitors even again with a three-pointer.

The teams exchanged buckets down the stretch before Norwich senior Jesse Davis (Woodinville, Wash.) splashed in a triple as the horn sounded to give the Cadets a 41-39 lead at the break.

The teams would play the cat and mouse game for the first half of the second period until the Hornets put together a 14-6 run to the 11:15 mark of the final stanza to take a ten-point lead at 68-58. The visitors' junior Zach Falkenburg contributed seven of the 14 points during that stretch.

The Cadets would chip away at the deficit ultimately getting to within three points at 75-72 following a made jumper by junior Tayjaun McKenzie (Boston, Mass.) at the 5:47 mark, but that would be as close as the comeback attempt would get as Olsen and Falkenburg combined for 15 points down the stretch to seal the win for the Hornets.

Both teams shot the ball well in the contest with NVU-Lyndon making 50 percent of its shots while the Cadets registered 44.1 percent. The visitors' key advantage came on the boards where they outrebounded the hosts 46-35.

The Hornets were led by Olsen who tied for the game-high in points with 30. The guard also contributed eight rebounds and five assists. His running mate, Falkenburg double-doubled with 26 points and 11 rebounds. The visitors' only other starter with double-digit points was Tyrese Harris who contributed 12 points.  Luke Fredsell led the Hornets' reserves with 13 points off the bench.

Norwich was led by Lewis Jr. who shared the game-high in points with 30 on an efficient 13-of-18 line from the field. Davis connected on 4-of-5 shots from beyond the arc to tally 12 points, while junior Caleb Casinas (Aiea, Hawaii) emerged from the Cadets' bench players to post his first career double-double with 11 points and a career-best 11 rebounds.

These two teams will complete the home-and-home series tomorrow when the Hornets host the Cadets at Stannard Gym at 2 p.m.