NORTHFIELD, VT - Norwich (7-4, 2-2 GNAC) executed a three-point play with one-tenth of a second remaining to sneak past Saint Joseph's (9-2, 4-1 GNAC), 72-71, in a GNAC Men's Basketball contest on Tuesday evening. Ray Eatmon '10 (Huntington, NY) notched his first double-double effort of the season with 16 points and a game-high 13 rebounds in the loss, which snaps a six-game winning streak for the Monks.

The Cadets were paced by Quincy Williams '11 (St. Louis, MO), who registered the game-clinching three-point play and posted a double-double of his own with a game-high 21 points and 11 caroms for the hosts.

St. Joe's, which held the lead for the vast majority of the matchup, including the entire first half, appeared to take control of the game early with an outstanding 10-13 shooting performance which covered the first seven minutes of play. As it turned out, however, the Monks' collective 15-27 (55.6%) effort from the free-throw line, the team's lowest conversion rate from the line this year, proved to be a deciding factor in the loss.

With 13:08 remaining in the first half, a Chris Petzy '12 (Kensington, NH) field goal capped a Monks' 10-2 run and put the Royal Blue up by a game-best 14 points, but the Cadets fired back with an 11-0 surge, which was closed out by a trifecta of freebies from Jaren Jeffcoat '11 (Dallas, TX) at the 10:20 mark, to cut the St. Joe's cushion to 22-19.

The Monks maintained at least a slim lead for the remainder of the opening stanza, and led by seven points after Eatmon made a bucket off an Anthony Savino '11 (Portland, ME/Cheverus) pass at the 6:26 mark. Saint Joseph's carried a 38-35 advantage into the locker room at the break.

The Monks held a seven-point lead, 48-41, after Rashon Jones '11 (Bridgeport, CT) connected on one of two free throws with 14:34 remaining, but the Cadets proceeded to go on a 10-run and gained their first lead of the game, 51-48, when Ryan Williams '13 (Dallas, TX) drained a three to cap the surge at the 12:55 mark.

Petzy connected on a trey of his own just over a minute later to knot the game at 51 apiece and the Monks held at least a share of the lead until Jeffcoat scored five unanswered points to put his team up by one, 65-64, with 3:04 to go.

A layup by Zach O'Brien '12 (Schenectady, NY) with 24 tics on the clock provided the Royal Blue with a 70-67 cushion. Quincy Williams cut the lead to 70-69 with a basket at the 10-second mark and O'Brien made one of two freebies after immediately being fouled on the inbounds play. After a missed three from Ryan Williams, Quentin Williams collected the carom and tied the game with a lay-in, was fouled, and proceeded to make the game-winning free throw.

Five players, including Eatmon, reached double-digits for the Monks, as Tyler Kelley '11 (Saco, ME) netted 15 points, Petzy poured in 13, O'Brien added 11 points, 8 assists and 4 steals and Jones chipped in with 10 points, 4 blocks and 5 boards in the loss.

For the Cadets, Cori Boston '11 (Boston, MA) netted 13 points and Jeffcoat tallied 11 in the victory.

St. Joe's shot 48.1% (25-52) overall, 40% (6-15) from three-point distance, and 55.6% (15-27) from the line, while Norwich shot 40.9% (27-66) from the field, 31.6% (6-19) from beyond the arc and 80% (12-15) at the line.

Both teams will face off against GNAC opponents in their contests, as the Monks will host Lasell College on Saturday at 3:00 PM and Norwich will play at Suffolk on Thursday at 7:00 PM.

Newspaper Box Score
St. Joseph's (Me.) vs NORWICH CADETS
01/12/10 7:00 p.m. at Northfield, Vt. (Andrews Hall)
At Northfield, Vt. (Andrews Hall)
NORWICH CADETS 72, ST. JOSEPH'S (ME.) 71
ST. JOSEPH'S (ME.) (9-2, 4-1 GNAC)
Ray Eatmon 6-9 4-8 16; Tyler Kelley 5-9 1-4 15; Chris Petzy 4-8 3-4 13; Zach
O'Brien 5-13 1-3 11; Rashon Jones 2-4 6-8 10; Anthony Savino 3-8 0-0 6; Eric
Friend 0-1 0-0 0; Tom Ray 0-0 0-0 0; Julio Vazquez 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 25-52
15-27 71.
NORWICH CADETS (7-4, 2-2 GNAC)
Quincy Williams 8-11 5-5 21; Cori Boston 5-8 2-3 13; Jaren Jeffcoat 3-13 4-5
11; Antonio Davis 4-12 1-2 9; Ryan Williams 3-9 0-0 8; Nickolai Havoutis 1-3
0-0 3; Darell Marshall 1-5 0-0 3; Israel Guardado 1-4 0-0 2; Brandon Kuhre
1-1 0-0 2. Totals 27-66 12-15 72.
St. Joseph's (Me.)............   38   33  -   71
NORWICH CADETS................   35   37  -   72
3-point goals--St. Joseph's (Me.) 6-15 (Tyler Kelley 4-8; Chris Petzy 2-3;
Rashon Jones 0-1; Eric Friend 0-1; Zach O'Brien 0-2), NORWICH CADETS 6-19
(Ryan Williams 2-5; Cori Boston 1-2; Darell Marshall 1-3; Nickolai Havoutis
1-2; Jaren Jeffcoat 1-4; Antonio Davis 0-3). Fouled out--St. Joseph's
(Me.)-None, NORWICH CADETS-Antonio Davis; Cori Boston. Rebounds--St.
Joseph's (Me.) 38 (Ray Eatmon 13), NORWICH CADETS 32 (Quincy Williams 11).
Assists--St. Joseph's (Me.) 15 (Zach O'Brien 8), NORWICH CADETS 11 (Nickolai
Havoutis 3; Darell Marshall 3). Total fouls--St. Joseph's (Me.) 14, NORWICH
CADETS 20. Technical fouls--St. Joseph's (Me.)-None, NORWICH CADETS-None.
A-76