NEW LONDON, Conn. – November 15, 2022 - The Dean College men's basketball team dropped a tight road game at Mitchell, 82-77, Tuesday evening.

The Bulldogs (1-2) return home on Saturday to host Fitchburg State at 1 p.m. Mitchell (2-1) hosts Lehman College on Friday at 5:30 p.m.

Junior AJ Weston (Kansas City, Mo.) led Dean with a team-best 20 points. Junior Jakobi Greenleaf (Houston, Texas) posted 17 points and nine rebounds, while. junior Jayden Madise (Palmdale, Calif.) added 15 points and seven rebounds. Junior Malik Spearman (St. Paul, Minn.) contributed 12 points, eight boards and six assists.

Senior Alfonzo Stokes (Bloomfield, Conn.) led the Mariners with a game-high 26 points. He added five rebounds, three assists and three steals. Mikey Buscetto (Waterford, Conn.) tallied 18 points and five assists. Senior Ahmani Browne (St. John's, Antigua) registered eight points and nine rebounds.

Dean trailed by 11 (72-61) with 6:16 left to play, but showed a lot of fight to claw back. AJ Weston buried a trey with 1:26 on the clock to pull the Bulldogs within one possession at 76-73.

Mitchell answered with a jumper and a pair of free throws, sandwiched around two Weston freebies, to take an 80-75 lead with 34 seconds to play. 

Jakobi Greenleaf made a pair of free throws on the Bulldogs' next possession, but a late Stokes layup secured the 82-77 victory for the home team. 

The Mariners shot 41.6% from the field, while Dean made 44.4%. The Bulldogs won the glass battle with a 41-37 margin, but Mitchell had a 24-8 advantage in second chance points.