NEW HAVEN, Conn. — Avery Hinnant (Naugatuck, Conn.) and Ray Ford, Jr. (Jersey City, N.J.) supplied showstopping performances on the hardwood in the No. 4 Albertus Magnus College men's basketball team's Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) 72-57 quarterfinals victory inside the Cosgrove Marcus Messer Athletic Center over the No. 5 Norwich University Cadets on Tuesday.

Four Falcons tallied double-digits, spearheaded by a 16-point and 10-rebound performance by Hinnant while Ford, Jr.'s earned his first career double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds. Hinnant netted 14 points in the first half en route to his career-high in points and his second career double-double.

Kevin Crawford (Bridgeport, Conn.) and Ta'zhon Daniels (New Haven, Conn.) both recorded 12 points.

The Falcons will now go on the road to take on top seed, Saint Joseph's College (Maine) on Thursday for a 7:30 p.m. tip

THE BASICS

FINAL: Albertus Magnus 72 | Norwich 57

RECORDS: Albertus (16-10) | Norwich (17-9)

BOX

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Norwich opened the game with a 4-0 lead across two and a half minutes before back-to-back jumpers by Daniels and Jayquan Kirkland (Stratford, Conn.) made it 4-4 at 16:37.
• The Falcons grabbed their first lead of the night off a three-pointer by Ford, Jr. at 15:32 in the first half. After a pair of missed attempts by the hosts, Ford, Jr. secured the offensive board for a shot behind the arc and gave Albertus the 7-6 lead. 
• The Falcons gradually began to assume control to claim a 34-16 lead. Less than a minute after Kohlby Murray's layup narrowed the gap for Norwich for a 12-11 game, Crawford stepped back for a three off the pass by Ford, Jr. and kickstarted a 22-5 scoring stretch. Hinnant scored seven straight points during the run.
• Albertus ballooned their advantage beyond the 20-point mark late in the first half off a Hinnant tip-in for a 44-24 edge. During the offensive push by the Falcons, Ford, Jr. pump faked on a three, drove to the hoop and dished a pass to Hinnant for a dunk to take a 40-21 lead with 3:06 left in the first half. Albertus would eventually take a 45-28 lead into halftime.
• Jalen Olivero opened the second stanza with six points to cut the deficit to 13 but a driving layup by Malcolm Duncanson (West Haven, Conn.) halted the offensive pressure by Olivero.
• After the Falcons turned their advantage into a 17-point lead with consecutive layups by Daniels, a 7-0 rally by the Cadets, capped by back-to-back layups from Donato Pakak, presented the visitors an offensive boost. However, a three-pointer by Kirkland again gave the Falcons a 60-47 lead with 8:39 remaining.
• It proved to be the closest the Cadets could get throughout the remainder of the night, however, matching the 10-point deficit one more time on a Murray triple with 3:01 remaining in the game.
• A small 5-0 run by Ford, Jr. off a pair of free throws and a three over the final three minutes sealed the deal, catapulting the Falcons to victory.

TEAM STATS

Albertus

40.3 FG% | 28.6 3PT% | 60.9 FT%

Norwich

35.1 FG% | 18.2 3PT% | 72.2 FT% 

LEADERS

Albertus

Avery Hinnant 16 Points | 10 Rebounds | 7-9 FG | 2-4 | 1 Assist

Ray Ford, Jr. 10 Points | 10 Rebounds | 4 Assists | 4-4 FT | 2 Steals | 1 Block

Kevin Crawford 12 Points | 2 Rebounds | 2 Steals | 2 Blocks | 1 Assist | 4-7 FG | 1-2 3PT

Ta'zhon Daniels 12 Points | 3 Assists | 2 Assists | 2-2 FT | 1 Rebound

Norwich

Jalen Olivero 21 Points | 4-4 FT | 4 Rebounds | 2 Assists

Donato Pakak 13 Points | 9 Rebounds | 5-5 FT | 4-5 FG

Kohlby Murray 11 Points | 4 Steals | 3 Rebounds 

NOTEWORTHY

• Albertus outscored Norwich 36-24 in the paint, 30-7 in fastbreak points, 17-5 second chance points and 24-5 in points off turnovers.
• The Falcons' bench dominated Norwich's bench, outscoring them 23-0.