CHAMPIONSHIP CENTRAL | LIVE STATS | VIDEO

NORTHFIELD, Vt. - The #5-seeded Norwich University men's basketball team (17-8, 9-5 GNAC) will travel to #4 Lasell University (16-9, 10-4 GNAC) for a Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Tournament Quarterfinal game on Tuesday, Feb. 20, at 7:00 p.m. at the Lasell Athletic Center.

The Cadets are looking to advance to the GNAC Semifinals for the first time since the 2011 GNAC Tournament, while the Lasers are two years removed of their last GNAC Semifinal berth.  Both teams last hoisted the GNAC crown in the mid-2000s, as Norwich claimed back-to-back titles in 2005 and 2006 over Emerson College.  Lasell took home hardware in its first season in the GNAC in 2008 after transitioning from the North Atlantic Conference, topping the Cadets in the first round en route to cruising past top-seeded Emerson in the championship game.

BY THE NUMBERS:
Norwich:

• The Cadets enter winners of eight of their last 10 tilts, including an 86-83 win at Mitchell last Saturday, Feb. 17.  Four Cadets logged double-digits, spearheaded by a career-high 31 points from Owen Liss (West Suffield, Conn.).  Kohlby Murray (Fair Haven, Vt.) poured in 20 points, while Jalen Olivero (Holyoke, Mass.) and Joe Joe DuBrul (Shelburne, Vt.) tallied 16 and 11 points, respectively.  In a wild offensive affair, Liss scored the go-ahead basket with under nine minutes remaining, keeping the Mariners at bay as the Cadets shot a blistering 62.1% from the floor in the second half.
• One of the premier defensive teams in both the GNAC and in Div. III basketball, Norwich has held teams to 67.8 points per game this year, the best mark in the conference.  The Cadets thrive in turning shots away from the basket, ranking first in the GNAC and fourth nationally in Div. III in blocks per game with 6.1 denials.  This season, the Cadets have logged double-digit blocks five times, including three 11-block showings against the University of Maine at Fort Kent, Rivier University, and Johnson & Wales University.

Lasell:

• Lasell snapped a three-game skid on Saturday, claiming a 73-70 overtime thriller over Elms College in a contest with just three lead changes and two ties.  Marcus Lewis paced the effort with 20 points, complemented by 18 points from Che Hanks and 15 points off the bench from Karim Belhouchet.  The Lasers shot just 36.8% from the floor for the game, but upped their defense in overtime, holding the Blazers to just 18.2% in the extra session.  Three-pointers were how the Lasers won, as the hosts drilled 11 treys to the Blazers' seven.
• Despite ranking seventh in the GNAC in field goal percentage, the Lasers are among the top in the league in both three-point and free-throw percentage.  Lasell ranks fourth from beyond the arc, knocking down 34.7% of their long-range shots and eclipsing the 50.0% mark three times this season; in those three games, the Lasers were a staggering 42-80 in wins over Plymouth State University, Emmanuel College, and New England College.  From the charity stripe, the Lasers lead the GNAC on a 74.4% clip.

PLAYERS TO WATCH:
Norwich:

• On a roster with five players averaging over nine points per game, Owen Liss has been the offensive vanguard, averaging 19.0 points in 22 games this season.  Liss has passed the double-digit plateau 21 times in those 22 outings, and is coming off a career-best 31-point showing at Mitchell last weekend.  The junior forward leads the conference in field goal percentage while ranking in the top 20 nationally in Div. III in the same category, maintaining a 61.8% clip from the floor.  His 19.0 point-average puts him third in the GNAC and within the top 75 in Div. III
• The anchor of Norwich's defensive prowess has been sophomore center Rodrick Pearson (Hartford, Conn.).  Primarily responsible for Norwich's high team block count, Pearson ranks in the top five nationally in blocks per game, turning away 3.3 shots on average, leading the GNAC by a comfortable margin.  Pearson broke the single-season block record halfway through this season, surpassing the mark of 52 set by Andre Woods during the 1986-87.  Entering Tuesday's tilt, Pearson has denied 76 attempts.

Lasell:

• Marcus Lewis has been the catalyst for Lasell's success, scoring double-figures in all 25 games this year after reaching double-digits just twice in his first two seasons.  The fourth-leading scorer in the GNAC with 18.4 points, Lewis has scored at least 20 points eight times this year, including a career-high 36 points in an overtime loss to Wentworth back in mid-November.  Lewis had his second 30-point showing to open up February, pouring in 35 of his team's 90 points in a 10-point victory over Colby-Sawyer College.
• Che Hanks has had a standout freshman campaign, particularly this calendar year.  After reaching double-digits just three times in November and December, Hanks has notched that mark 10 times since the flip of the calendar, which includes a dominant 28-point showcase at Rivier University.  Hanks drives the offense, dishing out 3.8 helpers, good for fifth in the GNAC, while ranking within the top 100 nationally in total assists this season with 95.  From long range, Hanks has been nearly automatic, averaging a 43.9% clip from behind the line.

LAST TIME OUT:

• The Cadets and Lasers met just a little over a week ago on Feb. 10, in a seismic 81-67 conference victory for Norwich.  Lasell rushed out to a swift 8-0 lead, but could not keep down Norwich's prompt 13-0 response.  The Cadet offense ignited in the second half, eventually ballooning to as large as 16 on a pair of occasions on a slew of free-throws to end the contest.
• Five Cadets and four Lasers reached double-digit territory, with Omarion Jett (Montclair, N.J.) going 6-9 from the floor and 10-12 from the stripe to pace the Cadets offensively behind 25 points.  Che Hanks led a quadruplet of Lasers who scored in the teens, tallying 13 points behind three treys.

HISTORY ON THE HARDWOOD:

• This season has been a bounce back for the Lasers, who finished 16-9 overall and 10-4 in conference action after going 12-13 last season, which included missing the GNAC Tournament with an even 9-9 mark in GNAC play.  After a two-game skid to end December, Lasell recovered, winning eight of nine throughout January, falling only to Albertus Magnus College.  After topping Colby-Sawyer to open February, the Lasers dropped three straight double-digit affairs to Saint Joseph's College of Maine, Norwich, and the University of Saint Joseph (Conn.).
• The Cadets missed the GNAC Tournament last season, posting a 12-13 overall mark and 6-11 conference record.  Since dropping back-to-back road conference games in mid-January, Norwich has only dropped two games, both coming to top three teams in the GNAC in Albertus Magnus College and Saint Joseph's College of Maine.  In that stretch, the Cadets have won seven games by an average of almost 19 points.  Prior to falling to Saint Joseph's College, the Cadets were on a four-game winning streak for the third time this season.
• Norwich and Lasell last met in the conference tournament two years ago, on Feb. 23, 2022, in the GNAC Quarterfinals, in a 69-57 win for the Lasers.  Liss paced the Cadet offense in that game, finishing with 13 points off the bench.  Only three Lasers return from that game, with Conan McCusker the only scorer with two points.

GNAC TOURNAMENT BRACKET (Hosted by higher seeds):

• Monday, Feb. 19 - PLAY-IN
  • #10 Dean at #7 Regis – 3:30 p.m.
  • #9 Colby-Sawyer at #8 Rivier - 7:00 p.m.
• Tuesday, Feb. 20 - QUARTERFINALS
  • #8/9 Winner at #1 University of Saint Joseph (Conn.) – 7:00 p.m.
  • #7/10 Winner at #2 Albertus Magnus - 7:30 p.m.
  • #6 Emmanuel at #3 Saint Joseph's (Maine) - 7:00 p.m.
  • #5 Norwich at #4 Lasell - 7:00 p.m.
• Thursday, Feb. 22 - SEMIFINALS
  • #1/8/9 Winner vs. #4/5 Winner – TBD
  • #2/7/10 Winner vs. #3/6 Winner – TBD
• Saturday, Feb. 24 - CHAMPIONSHIP
  • Semifinal Winners - TBD

Tuesday's winner moves into the GNAC Semifinals on Thursday, Feb. 22.  The top-seeded Blue Jays of the University of Saint Joseph (Conn.) will await the winner of Monday night's play-in game between #9-seeded Colby-Sawyer College and #8-seeded Rivier University.  The 9-8 game winner will face University of Saint Joseph on Tuesday, with the winner advancing to play on Thursday against the winner of Norwich and Lasell.