WEST HARTFORD, Conn. - The #5-seeded Norwich University men's basketball team saw their hopes of a trip to the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Championship game dashed in the GNAC Semifinals, enduring a season-ending 69-60 defeat to top-seeded University of Saint Joseph in the James A. Calhoun Gymnasium at the O'Connell Athletic Center on Thursday evening.

Jalen Olivero (Holyoke, Mass.) paved the way off the bench, tallying 16 points to lead the Cadets offensively.  Omarion Jett (Montclair, N.J.) and Kohlby Murray (Fair Haven, Vt.) logged 12 points apiece, and Rodrick Pearson (Hartford, Conn.) rounded out the double-digit scorers with 10 points.

A defensive stalemate to begin, the Blue Jays got on the board first, kicking off the evening on a 5-0 spurt to capture early momentum.  Maintains a 9-4 lead five minutes into the contest, USJ fell victim to a subsequent burst from the Cadets, spearheaded by back-to-back baskets from Olivero to knot the contest at 9-all.

Norwich's run continued on a slew of baskets, as Nabiyu Ndiaye (Barcelona, Spain), Murray, and Pearson all contributed to an 11-4 run, capped off by a Murray trey that gave the Cadets their largest lead of seven, 20-13.

The Cadet offense came to a grinding halt as the USJ defense clamped down, with the Blue Jays coasting to a double-digit lead over the ensuing seven minutes on a 17-0 run.  Norwich quelled the flames in the waning minutes, knocking down five freebies down the stretch courtesy of Donato Pakak (Sarasota, Fla.) and Jett to whittle the lead back down to single-digits.

USJ kept the flow alive out of the gates, holding on to a pair of double-digit leads but again let it slip due to clutch Norwich baskets.  Jett and Olivero dwindled the lead down to three twice, but the Blue Jays turned on the gas late in the second half, seemingly claiming all momentum.

A 13-point Blue Jays lead with four minutes left was swiftly evaporated over the ensuing minutes, spearheaded by a dunk from Liss, who kickstarted a 10-0 run over the next two minutes, rounded out by baskets from Jett, Murray, Pearson, and Olivero.

Two swift baskets by the Blue Jays and an inopportune technical down the stretch all but fanned the flames, but Norwich did not go quietly, keeping within striking distance due to six points from Olivero in a 14-second span.  It was too little too late, however, as the Blue Jays captured the 69-60 victory.

The Cadets held a dominant edge in bench points (18-5), while also carrying a lead in fast break points (12-9).  Norwich remains the only GNAC team to have played the Blue Jays within single-digits, between a three-point loss back in January and the nine-point defeat tonight.

With 18 wins, the Cadets finish the 2023-24 campaign with their most wins since the 2005-06 season.  Their nine conference victories mark the highest since the 2010-11 season.

Saturday's GNAC Championship game will see the #1-seeded Blue Jays host the #3-seeded Monks of Saint Joseph's College, after the Monks upset #2 Albertus Magnus in the other GNAC Semifinal tilt on Thursday evening.