Box Score

NORTHFIELD, Vt. —  Eastern Connecticut State University men's basketball captured the Norwich University Hock Classic title with a 73-55 victory over Norwich University Sunday afternoon at Andrews Gymnasium.

Behind double-digit performances from seniors  Dominick Dao (Terryville) and Jalen Hamblin (West Hartford), and junior Julian Sanchez (Willimantic), Eastern built an early lead and never looked back, holding Norwich at bay for a cruising 18-point victory for the tournament title.

Game Information:

• Score: Eastern Connecticut State University 73, Norwich University 55
• Records: Eastern (7-1), Norwich University (3-6) 
• Location: Northfield, VT  | (Andrews Gymnasium) 

Key Moments: 

First Half:

• Norwich opened the scoring with a pull-up from Jordan Ricketts at the 18:20 mark, though the lone basket held for only a minute before Eastern's Ray Carter (Springfield, MA) drove through traffic and finished a tough and-1 to put the Warriors in front.
• Both teams traded baskets in a quick back-and-forth stretch until the Warriors created separation, sparked by a Dao trey from downtown and paint-finish from Sanchez and Hamblin. Eastern rode a 10-0 run, holding Norwich scoreless until Mike Johnson-Correia knocked down a jumper at 9:03, trimming the deficit to 22-10.
• Norwich stayed in the game by grabbing quick baskets, though the first-half efforts from the Cadets were all for not as Eastern continued to extend its lead, leaving Norwich trailing by double-digit numbers. Fueled by quick jumpers and buckets from Pedro Perry (New London), Sanchez, and Dao, the Warriors pushed the advantage for a brief 6-0 run before Carter snagged a layup in the closing frame, sending the Warriors into half ahead 37-24.

Second Half: 

• Eastern never looked back from their first quarter domination maintaining their lead behind Dao, who opened with a pull-up jumper off a Carter assist to make the gap 40-24 gaining a 16 point deficit from the Cadets before Norwich responded with two quick baskets from Jordan Ricketts and efforts from Michel Ndaishimiye and Joe Dubrul to level the score to 47-40, the closest trimming of the game before Eastern quickly lengthened their lead with Drew Soltis (Bridgeport) and Sanchez adding points in the paint.
• With a decisive victory for the Warriors, Eastern held strong until the closing minutes. Sanchez laid a hook shot in the final frame to lead the game with 21 points, while Dao added a late three to finish with 17. Hamblin continued to dominate the paint and capped the scoring with a dunk in the finishing seconds, pushing Eastern up for a final score of 73-55 for an 18-point victory to take the Norwich U. Hock Classic title.

Stats:

• Eastern Conn. St.: 27–56 FG (48.2%), 10–26 3PT (38.5%), 9–12 FT (75.0%)
• Norwich: 21–60 FG (35.0%), 5–18 3PT (27.8%), 8–11 FT (72.7%)
• Rebounds: Eastern 34, Norwich 36
• Assists: Eastern 14, Norwich 6
• Turnovers: Eastern 9, Norwich 10
• Points in the Paint: Eastern 28, Norwich 28
• Second-Chance Points: Eastern 7, Norwich 8
• Fast Break Points: Eastern 14, Norwich 1
• Points off Turnovers: Eastern 17, Norwich 6
• Bench Points: Eastern 26, Norwich 6

Game Notes:

• Eastern Connecticut State finished out the Norwich Hock Classic with a 73-55 win over Norwich.
• Coming off the bench, Julian Sanchez led the Warriors with 21 points and 8 rebounds, while Dominick Dao added 17 points, and Jalen Hamblin wrapped with 15 points, 10 rebounds (his first double-double of the year), and 1 block to anchor the Warriors' win.
• The Warriors shot 48.2% from the field and 38.5% from three-point range while converting 75% of their free throws.
• Eastern outscored Norwich 14-1 on fast breaks and scored off 17 turnovers to help secure the victory.
• The team's nine turnovers represent a season low.
• Eastern managed 26 points off the bench to Norwich's 6.

Notable:

A winner of four straight, Eastern won both of its tournament games by 18 points. The Warriors defeated 2024/25 NCAA qualifier Western New England University, 74-56, in Saturday night's first-round game while Norwich (3-6) advanced with a 60-50 win over the University of Maine at Fort Kent. The game against Norwich was the first against the Cadets in 37 years.

The 6-foot-7 inch Hamblin was named the tournament's Most Valuable Player with two-game totals of 40 points and 19 rebounds with three assists, two blocks and two steals in 69 minutes. Hamblin  shot 51.9 percent from the floor and was 10-of-13 from the foul line.

Sanchez joined Hamblin on the all-tournament team with two-game totals of 35 points, 16 rebounds, five assists and only one turnover in 55 minutes. He shot 63.6 percent from the floor and is shooting a team-leading 66.7 percent from the floor through eight games.

In the tournament, Hamblin, Sanchez and Dao combined on 39-of-70 shooting from the floor (55.7 percent), were 10-of-21 from distance and 16-of-23 from the stripe. They averaged a combined 34.7 points and 13.7 rebounds and totalled 13 assists, six steals and two blocked shots and recorded a combined total of only nine turnovers in a total of 188 minutes.

Sanchez exceeded 500 career points in the tournament

Eastern is off to its best start after eight games in eight years, when the 2017/18 squad went on to win a record 26 games (against four losses), its last outright Little East Conference regular-season title and LEC tournament championship and qualified for its last NCAA tournament.

Up Next:

Eastern Connecticut State University men's basketball will host Penn College of Technology, 5:00 PM, December 29th, at Geissler Gymnasium in the Eastern Holiday Invitational. Eastern's final 15 regular-season games after the second round of the tournament on Dec. 30 will come in Little East Conference play.