WEST HARTFORD, Conn. - The Norwich University men's basketball team suffered a 97-50 loss to the number one ranked team in the nation in undefeated University of Saint Joseph in a Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) tilt at the O'Connell Center on Saturday afternoon.

Owen Liss (West Suffield, Conn.) led the Cadets offensively with 12 points and six caroms, while Joe Joe DuBrul (Shelburne, Vt.) added 10 points off the bench.

A swift 9-0 run out of the gates for the Blue Jays was all it took for USJ's offense to start rolling, despite a freebie from Chris Hough (Bloomfield, Conn.) and a layup from Kohlby Murray (Fair Haven, Vt.) getting Norwich on the board.  The Blue Jays continued to build an eventual 32-point edge at the half.

The Cadets' offense fared better in the closing 20 minutes after a Hough jumper four minutes in kept the Cadets within 33, but a a 16-0 spurt by the Blue Jays over the ensuing four minutes spelled doom for Norwich.

Jaecee Martin paced USJ with 13 points, while Jared Simmons and Ty Calloway tallied 11 and 10 points, respectively.

Norwich will return home for back-to-back contests, first hosting Regis College on Wednesday, Jan. 25, at 5:00 p.m.  The Cadets will then meet Rivier University at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 28.