Allister Williams works to shake his defender. (WSU File Photo)
NORTHFIELD, Vt. – The Westfield State men’s basketball dropped its first road test, 77-70, to Norwich University Wednesday night in Andrews Gymnasium. Norwich is now 1-0 overall, while the Owls fall to 1-2 on the year.
Sophomore center Mike Hogervorst put up a team-best 24 points and 12 rebounds for his second double-double of the year. Junior guard David Hampton drilled five three-pointers along with a pair of free-throws for 17 points, while sophomore Ryan Booth contributed 12 points, all on threes followed by a charity stripe shot on the night.
In the opening tip-off, Westfield exploded out to an 11-2 lead in the first four minutes of the game on back-to-back three-pointers before head coach Paul Booth called for a 30-second timeout to calm down his players’ nerves.
After the break, the Cadets settled right in and paced themselves to what would be a 14-5 stretch to catch up before sophomore guard Zygimantas Sirvydas went up for the layup to give Norwich its first lead of the game, 17-16, with 10:52 remaining in the first half.
Both teams would trade baskets for the next four minutes before the Cadets nailed four three-pointers, two from Booth and Hampton, to extend the lead at 36-25. Westfield added five more points to onto the board before Booth notched his third and final long bomb from beyond the arc down the stretch with Norwich leading 44-30 at the break.
The Owls’ defense shifted into a full court pressure throughout the second half and it paid off in the opening minutes of the stanza as Norwich turned the ball over three times as Westfield shaved the 14-point margin to just two points, 58-56, at the 9:07 mark.
Hampton drilled in his fifth three-pointer on the night to keep the Owls at bay for the remainder of the game. The final eight minutes would come down to who could make the most free-throw shots as the Cadets made 10 of the 15 shots from the charity stripe, while the Owls made just 6-of-8 from the line along with several last second three-pointer shots before the buzzer sounded.
Junior center Shane Pasquantonio (Ashland, Mas.) and senior forward Tchuijo Nkaemebo (Amherst, Mass.) led the Owls with 15 points and three steals each, with Pasquantonio pulling down 11 rebounds for a double-double. Junior guard Jose Allen (Amherst, Mass.) pitched in 12 points as junior guard Phillip DiPhillipo scored nine points off the bench.
Norwich shot 60.5 percent from the floor, hitting 57.1 percent from beyond the arc. The Cadets would make 65.4 percent (17-26) from the stripe and forced 10 Westfield turnovers, five of them on steals.
Westfield would shoot just 42.9 percent from the field, 27.3 from the three-point line, and struggled to hit the marks at the stripe, completing just 48.1 percent (13-27) on the night.
Westfield State will hit the road again this weekend, travelling to Emmanuel College for 1 p.m. tip off on Saturday, November 21.
