NEW LONDON, Conn. - Johnson men's basketball fell short on Saturday falling 78-76 to host Mitchell College in the Mitchell College Tip-Off Showcase.  The Badgers trailed for much of the game but took a one-point lead late in the second half before Josh Ford (pictured right) would score the game-winner with :03 remaining in the game.  Johnson falls to 0-2 and Mitchell improves to 2-0.

Junior forward Bryan Hickey (Barre, Vt./Spaulding) (pictured) was outstanding for Johnson all day finishing with game-high's of 22 points, 12 rebounds, and five steals and also earning all-Showcase honors.  Senior Andy Bousono (Philadelphia, Penn./Nueve Esperanza) had 18 points behind four 3-pointers to go with six assists for JSC.  Freshman Austin Robinson (Burlington, Vt./Rice Memorial) scored 11 points and had five boards and sophomore Asim Khan (Torrance, Calif./Torrance) had 10 points and eight rebounds.

Alex Pires (pictured left) knocked down five 3-pointers en route to 21 points to lead the Mariners.  Josh Ford, on the heels of his 42-point effort the night before, had 20 points and 12 rebounds and would also earn Showcase Most Outstanding Player.  Anthony Epps came off the Mitchell bench to score 18 points and grab nine rebounds.

Johnson jumped out to a quick 10-5 lead behind five points from Robinson in the opening minutes.  Mitchell would answer with a 12-2 run and take a 17-12 lead with 10:25 to play in the first half.

The Badgers would trail 26-24 after a 3-pointer by Ron Adrian (Schenectady, N.Y./Notre Dame-Bishop Gibbons) but the Mariners would push ahead by as many as 10 points and would take a 41-33 lead into halftime.

The teams would trade baskets for much of the early second half but a DeVonta Moseley 3-pointer would give Mitchell their biggest lead of the day 64-53 with 10:38 left to play.

But Johnson would respond with a 14-2 spurt to take the lead 67-66 with 5:36 to go capped by a 3-pointer by Bousono.

After falling behind by as much as five points a Bousono steal and lay up with 1:07 to play tied the game at 76-76.  Each team would have an empty possession giving Mitchell's Alex Del Rio the ball with time running out.  He would drive and drop off a tough pass in traffic to a cutting Ford for the game-winner with :03.3 on the clock.

Johnson would find Bousono streaking up the right side on the inbounds pass following a timeout but Bousono would step on the sideline with :00.6 on the clock and essentially end the game.

Johnson will play at home on Tuesday agains SUNY Canton at 5:00 pm while Mitchell moves on to face the Coast Guard Academy on Tuesday at 5:30 pm.