Mulson Guides Men’s Basketball Past Norwich, 74-59

NORTHFIELD, Vt. – Behind 29 points from freshman Brendan Mulson, the Suffolk men's basketball team defeated Norwich, 74-59, Tuesday night at Andrews Hall. The victory secured the regular season sweep of the Cadets for the Rams, a program first since 2012-13. 

THE BASICS
SCORE: Suffolk 74, Norwich 59
RECORDS: Suffolk (9-7, 4-3 GNAC) | Norwich (6-9, 3-3 GNAC) 

HOW IT HAPPENED
Suffolk jumped ahead to an early 7-2 lead to force the Cadets to take their first timeout of the evening. Out of the break, the Rams went cold, unable to score over a 5:35 span. Norwich, meanwhile, heated up, going off on a 7-0 run to take an 11-9 lead. 

The Cadets went up by as many as five, twice, but the Rams' comeback hovered. After equalizing the score three times, Mulson regained the advantage for the blue-and-gold as the rookie swished his second triple of the night. 

The freshman's go-ahead triple jump started a Rams' 16-0 run that put a 14-point distance between the conference foes at half, 40-26. 

Out of the intermission, the Rams maintained the double digit distance with the Cadets at the midway point of the second stanza, 53-40. 

Norwich hung around, however, and made a last ditch effort for a comeback and pulled within nine, 57-48, with 6:52 on the clock as Jesse Davis connected on freebie. A three-ball from Thomas Duffy quieted the comeback and Suffolk kept the Cadets at a double figure arm's length distance to walk away with the 74-59 victory.   

STATISTICALLY SPEAKING

• Mulson had an all-around game to anchor the Rams. The Freshman went 10-for-15 from the floor (66.7%), 3-for-6 (50.%) from behind the arc and missed just one of his seven attempts at the free throw line to finish the night with 29 points. He was one rebound shy of a double-double effort as his nine rebounds, including eight on the defensive end, paced Suffolk on the glass as well.
• Djema notched 12 points thanks to a 7-for-7 showing at the charity stripe. The junior dished out five dimes and had three caroms on his stat line as well.
• Duffy rounded the Rams in double figures with 11 on a 4-for-6 night from the floor.
• Michael Hagopian chipped in nine points, three boards and one handout.
• Kevin Querusio and Jamal Fiin each had five boards to add to the Rams' 34-25 advantage on the glass.
• As a team, the Rams shot 49.0 percent (25-51) from the floor, 39.1 percent (9-23) and 88.2 percent (15-17) at the line. 

NOTEWORTHY

• Suffolk swept the regular season, two-game meeting with Norwich for the first time under Jeff Juron's guidance and first time since 2012-13.
• The Rams won their 19th contest versus the Cadets to trim Norwich's all-time series lead to 24-19.
• With nine victories, Suffolk has set a new win mark in the Juron era and recorded the most wins since matching that number of wins (9) in 2013-14.  
• Mulson had a career-high in points, finishing the night with his first 20-plut point performance and seventh double figure contest.
• Djema notched his fifth outing with double figures on the scoreboard, contributing 12.
• Duffy racked up his 13th overall and third consecutive with double digit points.
• Juron used the starting five of Djema, Hagopian, Duffy, Mulson and Querusio. That combination improved to 9-7. 

POST-GAME PIC
 

WHAT'S NEXT?
Suffolk concludes a three-game road swing at Emmanuel Thursday, Jan. 25. The Beantown and conference battle begins at 7 p.m.