JOHNSON, Vt. - Johnson State College men's basketball held off University of Maine-Farmington Friday night for an exciting 68-65 North Atlantic Conference (NAC) win. The Badgers start their spring semester schedule with a 4-6 overall record, 2-2 in the NAC. UMaine-Farmington slips to 7-3 overall and 3-2 in the NAC.
Johnson placed four players in double-figures led by senior point guard Andy Bousono (Philadelphia, Penn./Nueva Esperanza) (pictured) and his 15 2nd half 24-point, seven-assist effort. Sophomore Asim Khan (Torrance, Calif./Torrance) contributed 14 points and one steal towards the win. Junior teammate Josh Reed (Sycamore, Ill./Sycamore) scored a career high of 11 points, scoring nine of them in the second half and tallied one assist. Junior Bryan Hickey (Barre, Vt./Spaulding) notched 14 points fueling the Badger's second half run.
UMaine-Farmington matched Johnson's offensive balance with four players in double figures headed by junior forward Andrew Dickey (Cape Elizabeth, Maine/Cape Elizabeth) and his 18 points and three steals. Junior Garrett Clemmer (Windham, Maine/Windham) proved to be an impact player by tallying 14 points for the Beavers. Juniors Ben Johnson (Manchester, Maine/Maranacook) and Yusuf Iman (Auburn, Maine/Edward Little) put 12 and 13 points on the board respectively.
The Beavers gained two ten point leads in the first half, the second coming with 3:33 left in the half. Trailing by nine with 1:09 to go, Reed sank his first of three three-pointers sparking a personal 9-0 run tying it up 31-31. UMaine-Farmington's Dickey ended the first half with a buzzer-ball brining the score to 33-31.
With 15:09 to go in the second half, UMaine-Farmington surged ahead 43-35 following a lay-up by Johnson. A 12-2 run by the Badgers gave JSC their first lead of the half brining the score 47-46. A Dickey lay-up gave Farminton the lead for the next possession but proved to be their last field goal for a crucial six minute span as the hosts earned a 59-48 lead with 3:26 to go.
Farmington was able to claw to within one point at 66-65 with :12 to go but a pair of Bousono free throws and a big defensive stop sealed the victory for the Badgers.
Johnson now moves onto Saturday's 3:00pm NAC game against Thomas College. UMaine-Farmington faces off against Lyndon State on Saturday at 3:00pm in Lyndon Center for another NAC match.