THE BASICS
Score: Dean College 79, Elms College 67
Records: Dean College (11-14, 7-5 NECC), Elms College (9-16, 5-7 NECC)
Location: Picknelly Arena, Chicopee, Mass.
Date: Saturday, February 22, 2020
Time: 12:00 PM

THE LEAD:
Jordan Booker (Waterbury, Conn.) pumped in a game-high 29 points and Kevin Clark (Miami Gardens, Fla.) added a career-best 23 and Dean College secured a home game in the upcoming New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) men's basketball postseason tournament with a 79-67 win over Elms College on Saturday afternoon.

The win for the Bulldogs gives them the fourth-seed for Tuesday's quarterfinal matchup with fifth-seeded Elms.

HOW IT HAPPENED:
The Blazers actually led by as many as ten points in the first half as DJ Edelen opened the game hot for Elms, connecting on his second three-point of the first ten minutes to give the hosts a 27-17 edge.

Dean eventually erased the deficit and actually went into halftime ahead 42-38 courtesy of a 25-11 spurt that featured among them – a D'caran Anderson (Compton, Calif.) three-pointer, a Traijan Powell (Sierra Vista, Ariz.) three-point play, two hoops from Oswaldo Terrazas (Odessa, Texas) and a buzzer-beating layup from Booker.

The Blazers took the lead briefly in the opening portion of the second half on a David Lopez, Jr. inside hoop, but a 17-6 Bulldog burst put Dean in front to stay at 66-57.

Elms did stay close for a stretch, but the Cardinal and White saw their advantage balloon to as many as 15 when Jordan Lynch-Rexroth (Harrisburg, Pa.) scored four straight points to put the game out of reach at 77-62 with less than three minutes to play.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS:
Booker added nine assists to his stat line, while Clark was extremely efficient, shooting 9-for-14 from the field to go along with eight rebounds, while Lynch-Rexroth chipped in with 15 points and eight boards of his own.

UP NEXT:
Tuesday's matchup between the two teams will be their seventh in the last three seasons. So far, Dean is 6-0 in series thus far. Tipoff is slated for 7:00 PM.