BOSTON, Mass. - After a fast-paced, exciting first half produced a slim advantage for the Wheelock College men's basketball team, the home team faltered down the stretch as visiting Dean College went on to win 88-75. The Wildcats fell to 3-5 on the season while the Bulldogs improve to 7-4.

A thrilling first half full of end-to-end action featured 10 lead changes and seven ties. Dean came out strong and grabbed a 7-2 edge but Wheelock responded quickly with a 7-0 run that put the home team ahead 9-7. 

The see-saw battle continued and with 9:41 to play in the half, a lay-up by senior Devin Brown (Chicago, Ill.) had Wheelock down 21-19.  Dean responded with seven unanswered points, on two layups from Josh Croskey and a 3 from Kendall Hamilton, to open up a 9 point lead.

With the Wildcats trailing 30-22, senior Matthew Eason (East Hartford, Conn.) connected from downtown and while the Bulldogs got a lay-up on the other end, Wheelock would answer with a barrage from downtown. On back-to-back-to-back possessions Derek Fournier drained two from long range before Brown added another and suddenly the home team was back in front 34-32. 

A lay-in from sophomore Dayvon Russell (Naugatuck, Conn.) had Dean in front 39-36 with 54 ticks left in the half but a pair of free throws each from Eason and senior Nicholas Fenton (East Hartford, Conn.) sent Wheelock into the break leading by the slimmest of margins, 40-39.

After the teams returned from the locker rooms the Wildcats looked ready to pull away as a Fenton bucket, Collier trifecta, Fournier lay-up, and William basket in the paint gave Wheelock their largest lead of the contest, 49-42. 

The Bulldogs answered back with a gritty 15-2 surge of their own including points from five different players that completely flipped the script and had the visitors ahead 57-51 with 13:40 remaining in the game.  Dean got points from Solomon, Aziz Gilliam, Randolf Thurman, John Lambert, and Jaquan James during this stretch.  

While a Williams lay-up had Wheelock within 60-55 at the 11:42 mark, Dean would continue to pull away and expanded their lead to 72-59 with 7:26 on the clock. From there, the visitors would maintain a healthy cushion as their lead ballooned to 17 at one point on their way to the 88-75 win.

Rookie Naquwan Solomon (Elliott, S.C.) exploded for a huge double-double with game-highs of 30 points, on 14-of-20 from the field, and 15 rebounds, including nine on the offensive glass. He also added four assists and two steals. Sophomore Kendall Hamilton (Lakeville, Mass.) joined him in double-figures with 16 points while Russell added 10 points and Thurman chipped in 9.  Croskey and Gilliam provided 10 points combined off the bench.

The Wildcats were led by Fournier who had his second straight game with at least 20 points on 8-for-14 shooting including 3-of-6 from beyond the arc. Williams recorded a double-double with 18 points and 11 rebounds while Fenton rounded out the double-digit scorers with 13 points and a game-high six assists.

Dean improves to 7-4 with the win, while Wheelock drops to 3-5.

Wheelock returns to action on Saturday December 10th when they resume their New England Collegiate Conference schedule with a trip to Elms for a 2:00 p.m. tip. Dean heads to Daniel Webster on Thursday December 8th for a 7:00 p.m. game.