NORTHFIELD, Vt. - The Norwich University men's basketball team nearly topped Johnson & Wales University in thrilling fashion, rallying from a 17-point deficit to have a potential game-tying shot just miss the mark in a 70-67 loss to the Wildcats in Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) action at Andrews Hall on Saturday afternoon.

The Cadets' balanced offensive attack was again on full display, with five Norwich players tallying double-digits.  Donovan Lewis Jr. (Savannah, Ga.) paced the effort behind a 17-point, 13-board double-double, while Joe Joe DuBrul (Shelburne, Vt.) poured in 13 points in 17 minutes off the bench.  Owen Liss (West Suffield, Conn.), Kohlby Murray (Fair Haven, Vt.), and Jalen Olivero (Holyoke, Mass.) rounded out the double-figure showcase with 11, 10, and 10 points, respectively.

Three-straight jumpers from Liss, Lewis Jr., and Murray got the ball rolling for the Cadets out of the gate on a 6-0 spurt, before the Wildcats sprung alive to eventually knot things up at 12-all.  A stalemate for the ensuing minute was broken by a Josh Zangerle trey, setting into motion a 26-9 run by Johnson & Wales that would give them a game-high 17-point lead with just under four minutes remaining in the opening stanza, before taking a 13-point edge at the break.

Norwich would find some momentum out of the gates, whittling the Wildcats' lead down to four before a 6-0 run by JWU pushed it back to double-digits.  The lead would largely remain within two-possession territory, and it appeared as if the Wildcats would safely claim victory after taking a six-point lead with 22 seconds left.

An Olivero jumper, followed by a DuBrul three-pointer after a JWU turnover, brought the Cadets to within one with 11 seconds left.  A pair of Jontai Williams freebies would hand the Wildcats their 70-67 win, as suffocating defense nearly prevented Murray from getting a final shot off, as his attempt clanked off iron with just fractions of time left.

Zangerle, alongside Aireus Raspberry, logged 21 points apiece, while Williams finished with 15 points.  The Wildcats finished with a 25-5 advantage in fast break points, outmatching Norwich's 38-28 lead in points in the paint.

The loss wraps up Norwich's three-game home-stand, as the Cadets will now hit the road for back-to-back tilts.  Game one will come at Anna Maria College on Thursday, Jan. 19, with tip-off scheduled for 7 p.m.  Two days later, Norwich will make the trek to West Hartford, Conn., to take on the #1-ranked team in the nation in GNAC foe University of Saint Joseph.