NEW HAVEN, Conn. - The Norwich University men's basketball team could not overcome a hot first half by the reigning Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) champions, as the Cadets fell to Albertus Magnus College, 84-64, in a conference bout on Saturday afternoon at the Cosgrove Marcus Messer Center.

Owen Liss (West Suffield, Conn.) went 10-18 from the floor to lead the Cadets with 20 points, while Omarion Jett (Montclair, N.J.) knocked down eight freebies en route to 17 points.  Jalen Olivero (Holyoke, Mass.) rounded out the double-digit scorers with 10 points.

The Falcons rolled to an early lead fast, opening the scoring on the first possession.  Norwich held close despite Albertus Magnus's attempts to pull away, whittling a seven-point advantage down to four on a Jett trey, but the Falcons responded in dominant fashion, turning a 13-9 lead into double-digits behind a 21-4 spurt.

The Cadets rallied behind a slew of free-throws in the closing minutes of the half, bringing the Falcon lead back down to 14 on two occasions, but a late three-pointer gave Albertus Magnus some momentum before the intermission.

The Falcons maintained their advantage throughout the second half, despite another late Norwich rally, which saw Jett score five-straight free-throws to bring the Cadets to within 16, but the visitors could not overcome the hump.

Norwich generated 21 Albertus Magnus turnovers, while enjoying a slim 19-18 edge in bench points.

Another GNAC tilt awaits Norwich to close out the month of January, as the Cadets now return home for a Tuesday, Jan. 30 match-up with Elms College.  Tip-off is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. in Andrews Hall.