CASTLETON, Vt. - Despite 15-point performances from Michel Ndayishimiye (Colchester, Vt.) and Niklas Nordberg (Fairfield, Pa.), the Norwich University men's basketball team fell to the University of Maine-Farmington, 82-64, on Saturday afternoon to close out the VTSU Castleton Tournament inside Glenbrook Gymnasium.

Ndayishimiye and Nordberg combined for 10 field goals and four three-pointers, with Ndayishimiye adding six rebounds and two assists.  Nordberg finished a perfect 5-5 from the free-throw line.  Joe Joe DuBrul (Shelburne, Vt.) added eight points, and Riley Severy (Barre, Vt.) chipped in seven points and five boards off the bench.

Ndayishimiye opened the scoring with a triple, but the Beavers quickly responded and built a four-point edge.  A three-pointer from Mike Johnson-Correia (Mattapan, Mass.) brought Norwich back within one at 7-6, but Maine-Farmington seized control with an 18-0 run to stretch its lead to 25-6.

The deficit grew to as many as 23 points late in the half before the Cadets sparked an 8-0 run, fueled by baskets from Ndayishimiye, Severy, and Noah Hutchinson (Montclair, N.J.), to cut the margin to 15.  Four made free throws by the Beavers halted the surge, but a late layup by Severy off a Ndayishimiye feed sent Norwich into the break trailing 39-22.

The Beavers quickly reasserted themselves after halftime, building a pair of 31-point leads in the second half.  The Cadets regained momentum in the closing stretch, trimming the deficit to under 20 on an old-fashioned three-point play by Zachary Zazula (Riverside, Conn.) with two minutes to go, but the gap proved too large to overcome.

Norwich found success in several areas despite the result, including a 40-31 advantage in bench points, with a 26-15 edge in the second half alone.

The Cadets also held a 22-18 lead in points in the paint and finished a sharp 15-18 (83.3%) at the free-throw line.  Defensively, Norwich forced 11 turnovers and tallied six steals, including two from Nordberg.

The Cadets return to Andrews Hall on Tuesday, Nov. 18, for a 6:00 p.m. non-conference matchup against New England College.  Norwich will then head to the historic Barre Auditorium for a 3:00 p.m. intrastate clash with Vermont State University Johnson on Saturday, Nov. 22.