The New England College men's basketball team topped the Johnson State College Badgers 92-82 Saturday afternoon in a North Atlantic Conference (NAC) contest. The win sees the Pilgrims improve to 4-5 overall and 1-2 in the NAC while the Badgers drop to 2-5 on the season and 1-4 in NAC play.
Junior guard Ron Adrian went 10-for-13 (76%) from the field, earning a game-high 24 points, two assists and two rebounds. Senior Bryan Hickey recorded a double-double contributing 12 points and snagging a game-high 11 rebounds while teammate Asim Khan chipped in 12 points and grabbed four off the glass in the Badgers' losing effort.
For the Pilgrims, Jonathan Byrnes poured in a team-high 19 points while NEC's Malachi Davis tallied 17 points, Dezron Wilson and Ryan Schmitz each chipped in 14 points. Robin Wilson contributed 12 points and six rebounds for the Pilgrims in their winning effort.
Johnson and NEC opened the game neck and neck tied at 15-15 with 10:42 left in the half. The Badgers pulled ahead after two more tie-ups with 6:00 minutes left in the half (31-28). Johnson held the lead into the half and headed to the locker rooms ahead 50-42.
The Pilgrims came back from the break hot going on a 14-4 run to take the lead 59-54 with 15:09 remaining in the second stanza. NEC to the lead and never looked back keeping the hosts at bay through the rest of the half. The Badgers came within four points (86-82) of the visitors but were not able to overcome them. Johnson State held strong hitting two foul shots with 2:40 left, but the Pilgrims solidified their 92-82 with a Garrett Schapertt free throw to end the contest.
Johnson will prepare for a home game January 16th, when they take on NAC foe Castleton State College for a 5:30p tip-off. NEC will return to action January 4th, when they travel to Daniel Webster College for a 1:00p game.