JOHNSON, Vt.-The Northern Vermont University-Johnson men's basketball team dropped the season opener against the MCLA Trailblazers by a score of 77-63.
The Badgers were led by Kiyl Mack who had a team high 16 points off 7-13 shooting with six rebounds. Jaymes Savage contributed 12 points and six boards and Robert Dubose added eight points.
The Badgers opened up the game on a 6-1 run off three consecutive backdoor layups from freshman guard Jaymes Savage. The Trailblazers countered with a 10-0 run in a short period of time to take the 11-6 lead. Two consecutive dunks from Mack and Floyd Davis sparked a Badger run midway through the first half. But it was MCLA who countered and went into the half with the slight 34-29 advantage.
Tyhee Taylor and Dubose opened up the second half with back to back made jumpers to cut the Badger deficit. It was back and forth for both sides until Badger turnovers resulted in made baskets for the Trailblazers. A 10-3 run late in the second half secured the win for the Trailblazers off of an impressive performance from Noah Yearsley who scored a game high 21 points off the bench and 17 points and 9 rebounds from Mike DeMartinis.
With the loss the Badgers drop to 0-1 overall and will face Vermont Technical College in the final game of the NVU-Classic at 3:00pm.