Junior Brian Phelps scored a game-high 17 points in the Badgers 69-61 loss to Plymouth on Thursday

JOHNSON, Vt. (January 27, 2011) -  Ryan Lambert (Derry, N.H./Pinkerton Academy) drilled a turnaround jumper with the shot-clock running down to end a run by Johnson State College that cut a 17-point lead to six at the 1:58 mark of the second half to lift visiting Plymouth State University to a non-conference men's basketball victory on Thursday in Johnson.  The Panthers even their record at 9-9, 3-5 Little East Conference while Johnson State falls to 3-12 overall, 0-5 North Atlantic Conference.

Johnson State trailed 35-26 at the halftime break as an active Plymouth defense created 11 turnovers as the Panthers shot 46% over the first 20 minutes.  The hot shooting of the Badgers (53%) kept them within striking distance.

A jumper by Jesse Sabolis (Stoughton, Mass./New Hampton) equaled the Panthers largest lead of the night at 17 with 10:20 left to play but Johnson would start chipping away from their behind senior Rob Key (New Britain, Conn./New Britain) and junior Brian Phelps (Milton, Vt./Milton).  The pair scored 15 of 17 Johnson State points in a run that cut the lead to six at 62-56 when Lambert drilled the fade away 18-footer that deflated the host team.

Plymouth was led by senior Tom Dowd (Portsmouth, N.H./Portsmouth) who scored 14 points while Lambert added 10 points.  Senior Bill Stowell (Stratham, N.H./Exeter) chipped in with eight points and nine rebounds.

The Badgers were led by Phelps' 17-point night on 5-6 shooting from the field and 7-8 effort at the free throw line while Key and fellow senior Ian Passino (Peru, N.Y./Peru) each scored 12.

Johnson will now travel to play at Green Mountain College on Saturday afternoon at 2:00 pm while Plymouth State returns home to face Eastern Connecticut State University on Saturday at 3:00 pm