FRANKLIN, Mass. – January 8, 2022 – The Dean College men's basketball team returned to the court for the first time after nearly a month away from competition to host Rivier in Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) action inside Pieri Gymnasium Saturday afternoon. Rivier made a few late free throws to secure a 62-58 road win.

Dean drops to 5-5 overall and 0-3 in the GNAC South standings. The Bulldogs are slated to travel to Colby-Sawyer on Wednesday for a 7:30 p.m. game with the Chargers. Rivier improves to 4-6 overall and 1-3 in the GNAC North, The Raiders travel to Paul Smith's College on Monday for a 6 p.m. tip.  

Dean sophomore Shim Daniels (New Haven, Conn.) led the Bulldogs with 18 points. Senior Traijan Powell (Sierra Vista, Ariz.) added 13 points, nine rebounds and a couple of blocks. Junior Mark Blair (Rosedale, N.Y.) contributed seven points, 10 rebounds and six assists. Freshman Joshua Richardson (Sydney, Australia) chipped in with seven points and six boards off the bench.

Junior Nikolas Pignone (Stoneham, Mass.) poured in 19 points, thanks to 5-8 shooting from beyond the arc for the Raiders. Senior Miles Gillette (Washington, D.C.) finished with a double-double of 19 points and 13 rebounds.

The Raiders, who last played on Thursday, raced out to a 16-3 lead in the first seven minutes of action before a Traijan Powell trey stopped the run for the Bulldogs. A couple of buckets by Gillette put Rivier on top 22-10 with 7:21 to play in the half. Dean battled back with a 10-0 run, including back-to-back three-pointers by Nick Sampeck (Blanco, Texas) and Daniels, to pull within 22-20. Rivier ended the half with a 5-3 spurt to take a 27-23 lead into the break.

Dean's Mark Blair made two consecutive layups to begin the second half and tie the game for the first time. Rivier then took a 39-34 lead with a Will Parsons (Rowley, Mass.) layup, but a 7-0 run capped by a Joshua Richardson basket gave Dean its first lead, 41-39, since the opening bucket. Less than a minute later, the Raiders retook the advantage with a Pignone three-pointer.

The teams traded buckets for the next few minutes before a pair of Shim Daniels free throws put Dean on top, 51-48, with six minutes to play. The Bulldogs eventually took a 57-53 lead, but Gillette took over to give Rivier a 59-57 lead with 20 seconds left in the game. The Raiders were able to secure the 62-58 road win with some free throws down the stretch.