Thomas Brown scored a season-high 33 points while adding nine rebounds and five assists to lead Green Mountain College to a 116-77 North Atlantic Conference (NAC) victory over Johnson State College on Thursday evening at the Eagle Dome.
With a season-high 116 points, the Eagles have now reached the century mark in eight games this season and the win gave the team its tenth-straight win and 20th overall on the season against just four losses. The team's NAC mark improved to 15-2 with the win. The loss dropped the Badgers' overall record to 8-16 while their NAC record slips below the .500 mark to 8-9.
The game started with a high-pace which was maintained throughout much of the contest. A pair of layups by Cameron Anderson and a three-point play by Brown put the hosts up with a quick 7-0 run which ended as Benjamin Holl knocked down a jumper for the visitors.
Eight-straight points by Brown for the Eagles in just over a minute put the home side up 19-9 with 13:00 minutes remaining in the first half. The Eagles held that ten-point lead until just under six minutes to play in the period.
The hosts then proceeded to go on a 15-2 run capped off by a Darius Wynn layup to make it a 46-24 game with 2:50 to play.
The Badgers responded with a 10-0 run of their own to narrow the deficit to 46-34 as Vernon Slater's free throw capped the run. Anderson and Brown both made layups before the halftime buzzer to give the Eagles a 50-34 lead at the break.
Green Mountain outscored Johnson 66-43 in the second half in another fast-paced period to close out the game. Malton scored 11 of his team-high 15 points for the Badges in the second half and proved a tough cover when driving to the rim.
In addition to Brown's big game, Anderson posted an impressive line of his own with 17 points and a career-tying-high 19 rebounds along with three steals and three blocks. Patrick Rittmon hit on four-of-five three-pointers for 15 points while Wynn and Mychal Parker each scored a dozen. Parker also contributed eight rebounds and four assists.
The Badgers received a very well-balanced scoring load from its roster as nine players scored at least five points while only one scored more than ten. Malton led the way with his 15 points, while Rahim Bunch and Donell Shaw each contributed nine. Shakeel Irvin had eight points and a team-high nine rebounds coming off the bench.
Both teams shot the ball well with the Eagles topping 55 percent from the field and the Badgers shooting a healthy 43.6 percent from the floor. Green Mountain showed up on the glass in this game outrebounding the visitors by a healthy 55-35 margin. The teams matched up well statistically across most categories with the Badgers receiving over 20 more points from its reserves than the hosts.
GMC closes out the regular season with a road game against Lyndon at 3 p.m. Johnson will also play its regular season finale on Saturday at home with a game against Castleton at 3 p.m.