NEWTON, Mass. – Norwich University sophomore Zygimantas Sirvydas (Silale, Lithuania) hit a layup with one second left and, for the second straight game, Mount Ida College suffered a two-point loss at the hands of the Cadets, falling 70-68 on Wednesday evening in Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) men's basketball action at Mount Ida Athletic Center.
Despite Mount Ida holding a double-digit lead in the first half and the Cadets' biggest lead only four points all game, the Mustangs see their overall record even up at 10-10 and fall to 6-7 in the conference, while Norwich improves to 6-13 and 3-9 in the league.
Sirvydas converted a running layup on a feed from Tommy Fitzgerald (Williston, Vt.) and the Cadets stole the inbound as time expired with Mount Ida out of time-outs.
Mount Ida sophomore Ethan Dujon (Warwick, R.I.) scored eleven points and hit a pair of free throws with nine seconds left to tie the game at 68 as the Mustangs and Cadets went back and forth with four lead changes in the final two minutes.
Dujon joined John Oliver (N. Babylon, N.Y.) Joey DeFillippi (Bristol, Conn.) and Kevin Conner (Mansfield, Mass.) in double figures for Mount Ida, while Mike Hogervorst (Leiden, Netherlands) led the Cadets with 12 points, eight of them after the break.
The game featured six ties and 12 lead changes, but Mount Ida held a nine point advantage with 12:26 to play after a jumper by Errald Jordine (Stamford, Conn.), who scored eight points, made it 51-42 Mustangs.
Hogervorst began to take over for the Cadets, scoring eight of their next ten points, but the Mustangs still led until the 3:04 mark, when Steven Scott-Lopez (Peoria, Ariz.), who had nine points for Norwich, hit a layup to knot the teams at 61.
With just over a minute to play, the teams traded three-pointers, with Alex Preckol (Westford, Mass.) giving the Cadets a 65-63 lead before Oliver answered from long range with his fourth three-pointer of the night to put Mount Ida back up one.
Ryan Fitzgerald (Winchester, Mass.) converted a natural three-point play the next time down the floor for Norwich, before Mount Ida re-tied the game at 68 on Dujon's two free throws.
The Mustang's biggest lead of the game came at 10:09 of the first half, when a Solomon Umoren (Quincy, Mass.) lay-in gave them a 21-12 advantage.
Norwich fought back and took a 34-33 lead into the break after Oliver and Fitzgerald traded dramatic three-pointers as the teams got nearer and nearer to the halftime horn.
The Mustangs shot 47% from the field, including 50% in the second half, when they hit 6-13 from downtown. Norwich fired 44% and hit on nine of their 23 attempts from downtown.
Sophomore forward Pat McKearney (Avon, Conn.) led all players with 10 rebounds, while Conner had two blocks and Jayson Clark (Austin, Texas) dished out a game-high six assists.
For the Cadets, Hogervorst pulled down six rebounds and Sirvydas picked up four dimes.
Mount Ida will look to bounce back when they take to the road Saturday afternoon with a 3:00 pm game in Standish at Saint Joseph's College of Maine.
Norwich heads to Suffolk this Saturday for a 3:15 pm start.