Franklin, MASS.- Trailing by 12 points at halftime, the Dean College Bulldogs battled back in the second half to defeat NHTI 92-88 in overtime.  In front of a racous crowd at Pieri Gym, Dean's two guards took over down the stretch and put the Bulldogs over the top.

Aziz Gilliam and Dayvon Russell both scored 26 points for Dean.  Both were consistently able to get to the lane and finish in traffic, especially late in the game as the Bulldogs made their run.  They combined for 12 of the team's 14 overtime points.

Dean trailed for most of the game.  They were down 12 at halftime, and the lead was as large as 13 with just under 17 minutes remaining.  

Demetrius Sumpter started the run for the Bulldogs with a layup at 16:35.  Three minutes later, two free throws from Russell cut the lead to 7, and a three point dagger from Russell on the ensuing possesion cut the lead to 4 and forced a Lynx timeout.

Dean took the lead for the first time in the game at the 6:10 mark on two free throws from Gilliam (61-60).   The teams traded baskets down the stretch, with no team holding a lead larger than three over the final six minutes.

After a free throw from Gilliam gave Dean a 77-76 lead with 17 ticks remaining, Joe Simpson connected on 1-2 from the line for NHTI to send the game to overtime. 

Dean fell into a hole early in OT, with Simpson scoring a quick 8 points for the LYNX and giving them a 85-81 lead with 3:10 remaining.  Gilliam scored on Dean's 4 ensuing possesions, and Russell scored back to back layups to give the Bulldogs a 3 point lead.  Gilliam closed it out with a free throw at :17 to push the lead to two scores and seal the game for Dean.

In addition to Russell and Gilliam, Naquwan Solomon scored 22 and was a force on the glass, collecting 12 rebounds.

NHTI was led by Michael Dejesus, who scored 24.  Joe Simpson had 15, Dante Ramos had 11 points and 12 boards, J'Quavious Thurman had 10 points and 8 rebounds, and Alex Cohen pitched in 10.  

Dean shot 50% from the field to NHTI's 36%, but struggled from deep, connecting on only 3-15 3's to NHTI's 12-37.  Dean led 24-6 in fast break points, but NHTI lead 29-14 in points off the bench.

The win brings the Bulldogs to 13-10 on the season.  They host Newbury College on Tuesday at 7:00.

The loss drops NHTI to 17-11.  The Lynx travel to Umaine Augusta for a 7:00 tilt on Tuesday.