The Green Mountain College men's basketball team earned its first victory of the season with an 80-63 win over Johnson on Wednesday night at a boisterous Eagle Dome.
Boo Agee led the Eagles by posting a team-high 24 points courtesy of an 8-for-15 (.533%) performance from beyond the arc. The freshman guard also chipped in with four assists. It was the first time since arriving on campus that Agee had broken into double-figure scoring.
Rob Hazard led the visitors and all players with a game-high 27 points on 11-18 (.611) shooting from the field. The sophomore guard added six boards to his line in the loss.
Green Mountain (1-4, 1-0 NAC) jumped out to the early lead after the Eagles' Javier Lugris and Hazard traded layups. Cameron Gaudetteand Agee each sunk a three-pointer, while Cameron Anderson and Lugris added layups to give the hosts a quick 12-2 lead with just under five minutes having elapsed in the game.
The Eagles relied on crisp ball movement and unselfish play to generate many open looks from three-point range. In all, the Eagles hit 12-of-24 attempted threes in the half to build up a substantial 52-33 halftime lead.
The Eagles continued their momentum into the second half as the team continued to hit threes which helped open up the paint for some layups. Despite trailing at one point by 32 points, Johnson (0-6, 0-1 NAC) made no hint at handing the game over.
Asim Khan, who had been quiet in the first half, found his groove in the second by attacking the basket and scoring in transition. He tallied all seven of his points after the halfway point of the second half. He and Hazard combined for fourteen points during that time to whittle the lead down to 19 with 4:16 remaining.
The Eagles used their bench for some insurance buckets down the stretch as Chris Strong and Anderson notched nine points to help secure the team and first-year coach Anthony Leonelli their first win.
Anderson posted his third double-double in the win with 15 points and 10 rebounds in addition to three assists and two blocked shots. Lugris contributed six points and seven boards, while Cassius Belfon popped off the bench for nine points and six boards.
Demetrius Slade helped supplement the offense for the Badgers with six points while also contributing five boards. Berkan Akgul also had six points for the Badgers off the bench.
Green Mountain will next travel to Colby-Sawyer for another conference tilt on Saturday at 3 p.m., while Johnson will battle UMaine-Farmington at home on Friday at 7:30 p.m.