Senior Rob Key paced JSC with 17 points and seven boards in the Badgers 53-47 loss at home to NEC on Wednesday

JOHNSON, Vt. (January 5, 2011) â€" New England College moved to 10-1 overall, 0-0 The Commonwealth Coast Conference on the season by erasing a 10-point second-half deficit and grinding out a 53-47 non-conference men's basketball victory over host Johnson State College on Wednesday in Carter Gym.  The game was the first for each following the holiday break as the Badgers fall to 2-5 overall, 0-0 North Atlantic Conference.

A layup by freshman Scott Moran (Orange, Conn./Amity) with 11:33 remaining in the game would give the Badgers a 37-27 lead but the Pilgrims would hold Johnson to only four field goals the rest of the way and only one over the final 5:05.

Junior Jason Minerve (Narre Warren, Australia/Falmouth) would key the run for NEC down the stretch by scoring eight of his 13 points in the final 5:42 including a pair of 3-point field goals.

NEC senior Joe Faragher (North Ridgeville, Ohio/North Ridgeville) netted a game-high 18 points and grabbed six rebounds while freshman reserve Michael Ingram-Rubin (Bedford, Mass./Bedford) scored 13 points.

Johnson was led by senior Rob Key (New Britain, Conn./New Britain) and his 17-point, seven-rebound effort while classmate Ian Passino (Peru, N.Y./Peru) added nine points.

Johnson State will host SUNY-Canton on Friday at 5:00 pm in their next contest while New England College will open TCCC play with a game at the University of New England in Biddeford, Maine on Saturday at 1:00 pm.