Men’s Basketball Defeats Norwich, 83-66

BOSTON – The Suffolk men's basketball team secured its best start in GNAC action since 2014-15 as the Rams took down the Cadets of Norwich, 83-66, at Regan Gymnasium Tuesday night.

THE BASICS
SCORE: Suffolk 83, Norwich 61
RECORDS: Suffolk (7-5, 2-1 GNAC) | Norwich (3-8, 1-2 GNAC) 

HOW IT HAPPENED
The lead ged seven times over the first 13 minutes with Thomas Duffy's drive putting the Rams ahead 14-13 before the Cadets called a timeout. 

Out of the break, Alex Jacovides came off the bench and sandwiched treys around one from the Cadets to put the Rams up 20-16. From there, Duffy spearheaded a 10-0 Suffolk run with the sophomore scoring seven of the hosts 10 points that made it a 32-19 game in the Rams favor with just under five minutes remaining in the first half. 

Norwich attempted to chip away at margin, but drives by George Grillakis kept the Rams in front by 10, 39-29, at half. 

Suffolk was held off the scoreboard for the first 2:45 of the second stanza before Brendan Mulson knocked down a hoop from three-point land. The bucket turned on a back-and-forth affair with the teams swapping hoops on either end of the hardwood. 

Grillakis' backdoor layup feed from Jamal Fiin was followed by a transition trey from Jonathan Eng that secured a 61-48 advantage for the blue-and-gold with 11:49 to go in the second stanza. 

A full court press put a the Rams in a frenzy for a pair of possession, but ultimately Suffolk found its composure and Mulson found Michael Hagopian for a backdoor layup to turn the  score Suffolk's cushion into 71-56 with just over seven minutes to play. 

An even played game was present for the remainder of the way and the Rams walked away with the 83-66 victory thanks  to its hefty advantage. 

STATISTISCALLY SPEAKING

• Duffy's 21 points on a 10-for-17 showing from the floor led the way as the sophomore added eight assists, five boards and one steal to his stat line.
• Djema registered 16 points, shooting 6-for-9 on the night with a 3-for-4 effort from beyond-the-arc to go along with seven boards and a pair of assists.
• Kevin Querusio tallied 11 points with a 5-for-7 performance from the field. The junior also chipped in three caroms, three assists and one steal.
• Mulson played an all-around game with nine points and rebounds, respectively, while Grillakis added nine points off the bench on a 4-for-5 effort from the field.
• As a team, Suffolk shot 53.2 percent (33-62) from the floor, 40.0 percent (12-30) from downtown and 83.3 percent at the line.
• The Rams held the edge on the glass, outrebounding the Cadets, 38-30. 

NOTEWORTHY

• Suffolk trimmed Norwich's series lead to 24-18 with the Rams' 18th win in the all-time meetings.
• At 7-5, Suffolk has posted its best record through 12 games since going 9-3 over the first 12 contests in 2000-01.
• The Rams opened conference competition 2-1 for the first time in the Jeff Juron era and first time since the 2014-15 season.
• Duffy notched 20-plus points for the sixth time this season and his career.
• Djema contributed double digits for the third time this year.
• Querusio racked up double digits for the second time this season.
• Juron used the starting five of Djema, Hagopian, Duffy, Mulson and Kevin Querusio. That combination improved to 7-5. 

POST-GAME PIC

WHAT'S NEXT?
Its right back on the road for Suffolk Saturday, Jan. 13 as the Rams make the trip to Regis for a 1 p.m. contest.