NORTHFIELD, Vt. - The Norwich University men's basketball team opened Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) play on Wednesday evening, dropping a hard-fought 74-66 decision to visiting Dean College inside Andrews Hall.

Three Cadets finished in double figures, led by senior Joe Joe DuBrul (Shelburne, Vt.), who came off the bench to score 18 points on 7-12 shooting while dishing out four assists.  Freshman Jordan Ricketts (Stratford, Conn.) knocked down four triples to tally 15 points in just 18 minutes, and senior Charles Nogard (Arlington, Mass.) posted a 14-point, 14-rebound double-double, the latter a career-high.

The opening minutes featured a slow start for both teams, with Norwich holding Dean scoreless for nearly four minutes while building a 5-0 edge.  After a Bulldog layup, DuBrul answered with a three to stretch the lead to six.  Dean then found its rhythm, stringing together a 14-0 run to take control at 16-8 midway through the first half.

The Cadets responded with a 5-0 burst fueled by Nogard and DuBrul, again keeping Dean off the scoreboard for nearly four minutes to cut the deficit to three.  The Bulldogs regained momentum and rebuilt a 10-point cushion, but a late layup by Daniel Bogre (Colchester, Vt.) trimmed it to 30-22.  However, Dean closed the half with a triple before the buzzer to head into the locker room with a 33-22 advantage.

Ricketts opened the second half with a timely three-pointer, but Dean quickly countered and extended the lead to 14.  The Cadets battled back with an 8-0 run featuring scores from Nogard and Ricketts, eventually pulling within five on a pair of Nogard free-throws.  Dean pushed the margin back to double-digits, but Norwich refused to go away.

A Ricketts triple at the 5:15 mark brought the Cadets within four, 59-55, the closest they would come down the stretch.  The Bulldogs closed out the game with clutch shooting and timely answers to Norwich's final efforts, holding on for the eight-point win.

Norwich held slim advantages in points off turnovers (20-19) and bench scoring (21-18), while finishing with strong shooting numbers: 40.4% from the floor, 31.8% from three, and 73.9% at the line.  The Cadets made the most of their trips to the charity stripe, going 17-23 compared to Dean's 10-14 mark.

The Cadets will wrap up their three-game homestand on Saturday, Jan. 17, hosting reigning GNAC champion Saint Joseph's College of Maine at 3:00 p.m. in Andrews Hall.  Norwich will then hit the road for back-to-back GNAC contests at Rivier University on Jan. 20 and Albertus Magnus College on Jan. 24.