JOHNSON, VT.- Johnson State College men's basketball held off Thomas College 87-84 on Saturday. The Badgers are currently 5-0 at home and hold a 5-6 record overall, 3-2 in the NAC. Thomas College slips to 5-5 overall and 2-4 in the NAC.

Johnson placed five players in double-figures led by junior forward Bryan Hickey (Barre, Vt.) who scored a career high 25 points and snagged 13 rebounds earning him his sixth double-double of the season. Junior Josh Reed (Sycamore, Ill.) and sophomore Ron Adrian (Schenectady, N.Y.) both tallied career highs with 17 points each. Sophomore Asim Khan (Torrance, Calif.) contributed 13 points, seven rebounds and six assists. Senior point guard Andy Bousono (Philadelphia, Penn.) recorded 11 points, seven assists and five boards for the Badgers.

Thomas also placed five players in double-figures and were led by senior guard Franklin Salvador (Somerville, Mass.) contributing a game-high 26 points. Senior wing Jerrad DeVaughn (Brockton, Mass.) put 14 points on the board for the visitors and grabbed six rebounds. Garen Manzo (Millinocket, Maine) added 13 points while Levi Barnes (Skowhegan, Maine) and teammate Adam Carlsen (Rockport, Maine) had 11 apiece.

Johnson grabbed control of action early and earned their biggest lead of the first half at 28-19 with 9:15 to play following a lay-up by Reed. The visitors would respond with an 10-0 surge to grab the lead at 29-28 with 6:35 remaining. Badgers would end up taking a 41-40 lead into the halftime break.

The Terriers would earn their biggest lead of the day at 60-50 following a 3-point field goal by Manzo with 11:10 remaining in the contest. Johnson answered with a 17-2 run capped by a Hickey 3-pointer as the shot clock expired giving Johnson 67-62 lead. The teams would swap leads several times over the next few minutes but the balanced Badger offense would prevail.

Thomas hosts Husson Tuesday at 7:30pm for another NAC match.