MEDFORD, Mass. – December 5, 2022 – The Dean College men's basketball team scored 66 points in the paint en route to a convincing 98-72 non-conference victory over Lesley on Monday evening.

Dean (6-2) has won five straight games and will return home to resume conference action against Albertus Magnus on Wednesday at 5:30 p.m. Lesley falls to 1-8.

The Bulldogs rank 14th in the nation in scoring offense with 89.4 points per game.

Juniors Jakobi Greenleaf (Houston, Texas) and Malik Spearman (St. Paul, Minn.) each went 8-of-12 from the floor to lead the Bulldogs. Spearman finished with 20 points, nine rebounds and four assists, while Greenleaf had 18 points and five rebounds in 18 minutes. Senior Mark Blair (Rosedale, N.Y.) made 8-of-10 shots for 18 points to go with six rebounds and six assists.

Malachi Howard led Lesley with 18 points and seven rebounds. Eli Johnson added 13 points.

The first 9:23 saw several lead changes and ties, including at 15-15. Dean then scored three unanswered buckets over the next minute to take a 21-15 lead. The Lynx would cut the deficit to a point a couple of times in the next few possessions, but Dean responded with a 7-0 run to take a 30-22 lead with 5:55 on the clock.

Dean pushed its lead to the largest of the half at 42-28 when junior Charles Walker (Princeton, N.C.) nailed a three-pointer with 2:21 left. After a couple of Lesley baskets, junior Jayden Madise (Palmdale, Calif.) converted a layup on the Bulldogs' final possession to give Dean a 44-33 lead at the break.  

Blair had 10 points, five rebounds and five assists in the first half for Dean, while Howard had 12 for the Lynx.  

The Bulldogs slowly built upon the lead in the opening moments of the second half before sprinting away from the Lynx to cruise to the victory. Greenleaf and Spearman combined for 32 points in the second half to pace Dean.