Early on, Southern Vermont had its way with a 20-8 lead midway through the first half with forward Douglas Hammond accounting 12 of those points. But Norwich responded with a 16-5 run to trail by one point, 25-24, with 4:25 remaining. The Mountaineers took a 32-30 lead at halftime.
After the 21-9 NU spurt to start the second half, SVC could get no closer than six points and Hammond only scored six points the rest of the way. Norwich also won the rebounding battle, 54-40.
Three Cadets scored in double figures with Jerrold Williams leading the charge with 23 points. Rene Cheatham poured in 16 points, while Geoff Hensley recorded his second straight double-double with 14 points and 10 assists.
Hammond was the top Mountaineer with 20 points and 13 rebounds. Two other SVC players logged double digit scoring as Chris Matte and Tim Bonnett each scored 13 points.
WNEC defeated Suffolk, 95-66 to advance to Thursday’s semifinal match with Norwich. The Golden Bears won both regular season meetings with the Cadets, 51-48 on January 26, and 65-55 on February 11. In the other GNAC Quarterfinal games, top-seed Emmanuel defeated Rivier, 80-63, while fourth-seed Emerson ran past Johnson & Wales, 86-69.