PAXTON, Mass. – January 24, 2022 – Anna Maria used a strong second half to defeat the Dean College men's basketball team, 80-61, in a Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) contest Monday evening.   

Dean goes to 5-9 overall and 0-7 in the conference standings. The Bulldogs play at Albertus Magnus on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. Anna Maria improves to 8-6 overall and 5-3 in the GNAC. The AMCATS play at Norwich on Wednesday with a 7 p.m. tip.

Junior Mark Blair (Rosedale, N.Y.) led the Bulldogs with his ninth double-double of the season. He scored a team best 15 points and grabbed a game-high 12 rebounds. Sophomore Shim Daniels (New Haven, Conn.) was the other Bulldog in double figures with 10 points. Freshman Joshua Richardson (Sydney, Australia) contributed six points and a season best nine rebounds.

Anna Maria's Ralph Grasso Jr. led all players with 26 points on 12-19 shooting. Gabe Armstead made 7-9 shots for 16 points to go with nine rebounds and six blocks. Kennedy Minix-Rogers set up his teammates with an impressive 13 assists.

Anna Maria took a 30-22, on a Zabari layup, midway through the first half. The lead was then pushed to nine, 35-26, with less than six minutes to play. Dean outscored the AMCATS 13-6 down the stretch, including six points by Blair, to trail 41-39 after 20 minutes. Blair posted 11 points and 12 boards to lead the Bulldogs, while Grasso had 11 to lead the AMCATS. Dean held a 28-16 advantage in rebounding, while Anna Maria used shot 54.3% to lead by a bucket at the break.

A Traijan Powell (Sierra Vista, Ariz.) jumper gave Dean its first lead of the contest, 45-43, 1:33 into the second. One minute later the score was tied at 47-47, before Anna Maria used a 12-0 run to create separation and never look back. The AMCATS held a double-digit lead for the remainder of the game to cruise to an 80-61 victory.  

Anna Maria shot 53.8% for the game and scored 52 of the 80 points in the paint. Dean was held to 39.1% shooting. The Bulldogs outrebounded the home team 44-36.