NASHUA, N.H. – December 3, 2022 – The Dean College men's basketball team earned an 87-79 victory in a Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) opener for both teams on Saturday afternoon.
Dean (5-2, 1-0 GNAC) steps out of conference with a 7 p.m. game at Lesley on Monday. Rivier (2-7, 0-1 GNAC) remains at home on Wednesday to host Norwich for a GNAC contest at 7 p.m.
Rivier came away with a 62-58 win in Franklin last season in the first ever GNAC tilt between the two teams.
Dean junior
Dorien Ruffin (Pinetops, N.C.) scored 18 points in the second half to finish with a game best 22 points. Junior
Malik Spearman (St. Paul, Minn.) notched a double-double of 21 points and 10 rebounds. Junior
AJ Weston (Kansas City, Mo.) contributed 18 points.
Nikolas Pignone led Rivier with 19 points. Nesta Roberts tallied 14 points and seven rebounds. Pharoah Davis added 13 points and eight assists.
After a slow start by both teams, things picked up as each side began to convert on the offensive end. The Bulldogs trailed 10-8 before using a 14-3 run, capped by a Weston jumper, to take a 22-13 lead with 8:33 to play. Dean then took its biggest lead of the half at 32-20, when Weston buried a trey with 4:39 on the clock. Rivier pulled within seven with 20 seconds left, but a Spearman three-pointer from the top of the key in the waning moments sent Dean to halftime with a 41-31 lead.
The Bulldogs had a 21-14 edge on the glass in the first half with 12 offensive boards that resulted in 11 second chance points. Dean was 12-of-17 from the free throw line and each team shot 3-of-8 from beyond the arc in the first 20 minutes. Weston had 13 points and Spearman scored 10 to pace Dean, while Pignone had 11 for Rivier.
Dean held a lead for the first several minutes of the second half until Rivier knotted the game at 52-52 after a Roberts layup. The Bulldogs then went on a 16-5 run to go in front by a 68-57 lead with 8:29 to play. Dean was able to hold off a Rivier comeback, keeping at least a two-possession advantage for the remainder of the game. The Raiders cut the deficit to five, with less than a minute to play, but Dean made three free throws down the stretch to complete the 87-79 victory.
Rivier shot 51.7% and Dean shot 43.1%. The Bulldogs made 24-of-31 free throws, while Rivier was 8-of-14 from the line. Dean held a 40-30 advantage in rebounding.
