Men’s Basketball Win OT Thriller Over Norwich, 82-80

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. – The MCLA Men's Basketball team welcomed Norwich University to the Amsler Campus Center Gymnasium this snowy evening for a non-conference matchup with the Cadets. Craig Williams scored a career-high 31 points to go along with seven boards, an assist, and a steal to power MCLA to an 82-80 OT win.

THE BASICS:

• Date: Wednesday, December 10, 2025
• Score: Norwich 80, MCLA 82
• Records: Norwich University Cadets 3-7 (GNAC 0-0) | MCLA Trailblazers 3-5 (MASCAC 0-0)

HIGHLIGHTS

• MCLA jumped out to an early lead thanks to a pair of early scoring runs. The first was 13-4 run to open the game that was started by junior guard Colin Quinn (South Hadley, MA) draining a three 25 seconds into the game and was capped by a layup by graduate student forward Jaxen Potter (Ballston Spa, NY) following a steal from freshman guard Alex Parker (Melbourne, Australia) with 13:18 still to play.
• The second run started with a pair of free throws from Parker and finished with the Trailblazers possessing what would turn out to be their largest lead of the night at 21-10 on a layup by senior guard Craig Williams (Dover, DE) with just over nine minutes to play in the first half.
• The teams traded baskets for much of the next eight minutes until Norwich finished out the half on a 7-2 run over the final three minutes of the first half, going into the locker room with the Trailblazers ahead 35-33.
• MCLA pushed that lead back to seven points when graduate student guard Colby Burleson (Pittsboro, NC) converted on a four-point play after firing from well beyond the arc at the top of the key while drawing a foul less than two minutes into the half.
• The Cadets refused to go away, finally taking their first lead of the game at 41-40 when Joe Joe DeBrul scored a three with 16:09 on the clock. The visitors were unable to pull too far ahead but did work out to their largest advantage of the night when Mike Johnson-Correia converted on a layup, making the score 52-46 with 9:21 remaining.
• Williams responded for the Trailblazers, putting back an offensive rebound under the hoop, followed by sophomore guard Leondre Sanchez (Willimantic, CT) splashing a three from the left corner with just under eight and a half minutes remaining.
• Despite the excitement, the teams would wrap the second half all squared up at 67-67.
• In the overtime period, the teams again traded blows, with neither getting out to more than the four-point advantage Norwich enjoyed after DuBrul made a pair of free throws to make the score 73-69 with 3:35 remaining.
• From that point on, MCLA went on a 13-4 run, starting with a three-point play from Williams, who converted the and one after a layup with just over three minutes to play, and ended with freshman guard Frank Field (Adams, MA) sinking a free throw with three seconds to play.
• A three-quarter court heave from DuBrul would fall as the clock expired to set the final score at 82-80.
• Williams finished the night with a new career-high of 33 points, topping his previous high of 23 points against the Coast Guard Academy on November 22 of last season. The guard was clutch in overtime, scoring nine of MCLA's 15 points in the extra frame. He also finished the night 15-for-18 from the charity stripe.
• Field scored 14 points to go along with seven boards, while Quinn rounded out the trio of double-digit scorers for the home team with 12.
• The Cadets were led by 21 points from Johnson-Correia in 32 minutes off the bench, while also getting 17 points each from DeBrul and Michel Ndayishimiye, plus 16 points from Jordan Ricketts.
• Ndayishimiye finished with a double-double, also pulling down a game-high 10 rebounds. MCLA was paced on the glass by senior forward Jayden Mills (Bronx, NY), seven each from Williams and Field. Junior forward Brad Saint Louis (Norwich, CT) added five rebounds in only six minutes of play.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

• Field Goals / %: Norwich 28-65 / 43.1%, MCLA 25-59 / 42.4%
• 3 Points / %: Norwich 5-16 / 31.3%, MCLA 6-27 / 22.2%
• Free Throw / %: Norwich 19-27 / 70.4%, MCLA 26-36 / 72.2%
• Rebounds: Norwich 38, MCLA 45
• Points off Turnovers: Norwich 15, MCLA 16
• Second Chance Points: Norwich 7, MCLA 11
• Points in the Paint: Norwich 44, MCLA 30
• Bench Points: Norwich 25, MCLA 13

UP NEXT:

MCLA will be back in action on January 2nd when it travels to George W. Stannard Gymnasium at VTSU-Lyndon for a non-conference matchup with the Hornets. Tip-off is scheduled for 1 p.m.

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