JOHNSON, Vt.- The Northern Vermont University- Johnson men's basketball team lost to UMaine-Fort Kent in their last game of the semester by a score of 73-57.
The Badgers were led by freshman guard Lawson Ouellette (North Thetford, Vt.) who had 14 points on 5-11 shooting. Sophomore Robert Dubose (Philadelphia, PA) added 14 for the Badgers but their efforts were not enough. The Bengals started the game strong as Jonathan Caldwell made a shot behind the arc. Both the Badgers and Bengals traded baskets for the first five minutes of the game until the Bengals settled down defensively and got stops. With a score of 10-7 the Bengals controlled the game and went on an 11-2 run pushing the lead to 21-9 with 10 minutes to play in the half. The Badgers collected themselves after a timeout and went on a 9-4 run of their own to cut the lead to seven points. A monster jam from Mahlik Franklin proved to set the tone for the Bengals for the rest of the half. The Bengals finished the first half on a 12-9 run giving them a 40-27 lead going into the second half.
In the second half the Badgers cut the lead to as little as eight points but the aggressive rebounding by the Bengals allowed them to capitalize on second chance points. Mahlik Franklin finished the game with a double-double scoring 22 points and grabbing 15 rebounds. Jarid Walton also finished the game with 22 points and collected 8 rebounds.
The Badgers will host North Atlantic Conference opponent Thomas College on Friday, January 11th at 5:30pm. The first time these teams met the Terriers beat the Badgers by a score of 69-43.