STANDISH, Maine - The Norwich University men's basketball team fell to a blistering first-half avalanche by Saint Joseph's College of Maine on Tuesday night, dropping a 111-77 decision to the Monks at the Harold Alfond Center in the penultimate Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) clash of the regular season.

Four Norwich players recorded double-digits, with both Jalen Olivero (Holyoke, Mass.) and Kohlby Murray (Fair Haven, Vt.) finishing 4-8 from beyond the three-point line en route to racking up 18 points apiece.  Owen Liss (West Suffield, Conn.) snagged five steals to go with 16 points, while Sharif Sharif (Burlington, Vt.) went a perfect 5-5 from the foul stripe to tally 13 points.

The Monks hit the ground running, building a quick 7-0 lead before Olivero put the Cadets on the board with his first triple.  Back-to-back treys from the hosts catapulted Saint Joseph's ahead by double-digits, while Norwich succeeded in whittling the lead back down to single-figures three times, courtesy of Liss and Olivero.

After an Olivero triple made it 28-19, the Monks proceeded to gradually create distance, building an advantage that grew to as large as 30 in the waning seconds.  Another long-range shot from Olivero brought the Cadets to within 27, 68-41, at the break.

Liss scored the first basket of the second stanza to generate some momentum for the Cadets, but it was short-lived, as the Monks seized opportunity and kept Norwich at bay.  Despite Norwich again trimming the lead to 27 at the 14:26 mark, a 10-0 run by the Monks halted the Cadet charge, as the hosts ran away with the 34-point victory.

Norwich finished with a 9-11 mark from the foul stripe for an 81.8% clip, while also knocking down eight three-pointers between Olivero and Murray.

The Cadets will look to lock in their positioning ahead of next week's GNAC Tournament this weekend, returning home to host Mitchell College for Senior Day on the final day of the 2024-25 regular season.  Tip-off is scheduled for 3:00 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 22.  Prior to gametime, Norwich will recognize its senior class of Murray, Olivero, Liss, and Donato Pakak (Sarasota, Fla.) for their contributions to the men's basketball program.