NORTHFIELD, Vt. - The Norwich University men's basketball team saw its six-game win streak snapped in the final game of the 2022 Ed Hockenbury Classic, falling to Bridgewater State University, 81-62, in the championship bout in Andrews Hall on Sunday afternoon.

The Bears' win grants the program their first-ever Hockenbury title, and the second for the institution after the BSU women captured the crown in 2013.  New England College fought back from an early 12-point deficit to top the University of Maine at Fort Kent, 85-79, in the consolation game.

Kohlby Murray (Fair Haven, Vt.) led Norwich's offense with an 18-point performance, followed by another double-double effort by Donovan Lewis Jr. (Savannah, Ga.), who finished with 17 points and 11 boards and was named as Norwich's representative on the 2022 All-Tournament Team.  Jalen Olivero (Holyoke, Mass.) drilled three treys en route to 15 points.  Nabiyu Ndiaye (Barcelona, Spain) contributed 10 caroms and six steals in the loss.

After Lewis Jr. opened up the offense on a layup less than a minute in, the Bears' high-octane offense began to roll, building a double-digit advantage halfway through the opening stanza.  Despite the lead blossoming to 19 on a Precious Okoh jumper, the Cadets rallied behind an 11-2 run to close the margin to 10, 34-24, at halftime.

The Cadets fared substantially better in the second half, where they maintained a 41.7% shooting clip to keep themselves within striking distance.  Any attempt at a comeback, however, was swiftly answered by Bridgewater State, who kept Norwich at bay by double-digits until the Cadets trimmed the lead down to seven on two occasions.  That would be the closest the Cadets would come in the closing 10 minutes, as the Bears embarked on a 23-11 run to close the game and come away from Northfield with their first-ever Hockenbury Classic title.

Dante Kikuba was wildly efficient for the Bears, finishing with 20 points on 8-13 shooting.  Okoh, who had 22 points in the win over Fort Kent last night, logged eight points to land a spot on the All-Tournament Team.  Emerson Halbleib's 12-point, eight-rebound, three-assist, two-block stat-line, paired with his 15-point effort against the Bengals, earned him Most Outstanding Player accolades.

New England College's Khalon Taylor and the University of Maine at Fort Kent's Jordan Guerrero rounded out the All-Tournament Team.

Norwich will now begin Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) play, with a trip to Nashua, N.H. on the docket on Wednesday, Dec. 7, for a date with the Rivier University Raiders.  The Cadets will then close the first semester of action with a 3:00 p.m. duel against reigning GNAC runners-up Albertus Magnus College in Andrews Hall on Saturday, Dec. 10.