CHICOPEE, Mass. - The Norwich University men's basketball team came away with a seismic Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) victory on Tuesday evening, withholding a strong second-half rally by Elms College en route to a 70-62 win over the Blazers at Picknelly Arena.

Owen Liss (West Suffield, Conn.) strung together another double-double showcase, pouring in 23 points while hauling down 11 boards to go with three blocks and three helpers.  Jalen Olivero (Holyoke, Mass.) knocked down three treys to register 20 points, while Charles Nogard (Arlington, Mass.) supplied 10 points and nine caroms to round out Norwich's double-digit performers.

An initial minute-long stalemate was broken by five-straight points from Liss, who ignited a Norwich offense that would quickly amass a 13-point lead halfway through the opening stanza, courtesy of three consecutive baskets from Liss, Donato Pakak (Sarasota, Fla.), and Olivero.  Despite the Blazers logging a handful of baskets sprinkled throughout the final 10 minutes of the first half, the Cadets thrived at keeping Elms at bay, building a pair of 16-point leads off treys from Nogard and Kohlby Murray (Fair Haven, Vt.) before Mohammed Kanneh (South Burlington, Vt.) gave Norwich its biggest lead of the night at 18, 38-20, with 2:24 left.

The Blazers ended the opening stanza with a 6-0 spurt, carrying momentum into the second half and eventually whittling Norwich's lead back down to single-digits.  The Cadets again surged back out to two 16-point advantages, but a 15-4 run by Elms gave the hosts some life.  Norwich would not allow it, however, pushing the edge back to 10 on three different occasions.

A layup by the Blazers with 1:07 remaining brought the Cadet advantage to 65-59, but clutch free-throw shooting in the closing minute by Olivero, Liss, and Nogard iced the contest in favor of Norwich.

The Cadets enjoyed leads in fast break points (12-4) and bench points (6-5), while shooting a strong 42.6% from the floor.  Norwich's defense was vicious, holding the Blazers to just 32.5% on field goals and 18.5% from beyond the arc.  The Cadets also prevented Elms from garnering any success at the foul line, limiting the hosts to a measly 3-7 from the stripe.  Norwich, meanwhile, took 19 free-throw attempts.

Aden Goffe led the Blazers offensively, racking up 21 points in the loss.

The victory signifies an important one for the Cadets, who entered tonight sporting an identical 4-4 conference record as the Blazers in the final month of the regular season.  The win catapults Norwich into a tie for fifth place in the league standings with Mitchell College, ahead of this month's GNAC Tournament, which begins on Feb. 24.

Norwich will look to build another winning streak, returning home for a pair of tilts.  The Cadets will first entertain JWU (Providence) at 3:00 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 8, before hosting New England College on Wednesday, Feb. 12, in a rematch of both team's season-openers back in November.