FITCHBURG, Mass. – November 18, 2023 – The Dean College men's basketball team was edged by Fitchburg State, 78-71, in a non-conference contest Saturday afternoon.   

The Bulldogs (2-2) return home on Tuesday to host Salve Regina at 6 p.m. Fitchburg State (1-4) will host WPI on Monday at 6 p.m.

Senior Jayden Madise (Palmdale, Calif.) led the Dean offense with 17 points on 7-of-11 shooting to go with eight rebounds. Senior Charles Walker (Princeton, N.C.) made 6-of-10 field goals for 16 points. Senior AJ Weston (Kansas City, Mo.) registered 13 points. Junior Tyler Newsom (Pendleton, Ore.) contributed 10 points, eight rebounds and four assists.

Fitchburg State's Frederick Siayor led all players with 24 points. Kamau Franks scored 14 points, while Matthew Drayton added 11 points and seven rebounds. Colin Quinn scored 11 points in 14 minutes off the bench.

The Bulldogs took a 20-12 lead on a Walker layup, six minutes into the contest. Both teams were held without a field goal for the next three minutes before a Javon Taylor bucket pulled the Falcons within 21-16.

Dean held the lead from the opening tip until a Siayor layup gave the Falcons their first advantage at 24-23 with 6:31 left in the first half. The home team finished the frame on a 12-9 run to take a 36-32 lead at the break.

The Fitchburg State lead ballooned to 55-38, 5:34 into the second half. Dean chipped away and cut the deficit to 65-62 on a Ja'maine Davenport (Mays Landing, N.J.) basket with 3:34 left to play. That would be as close as the Bulldogs would get as the Falcons made some free throws down the stretch to secure the victory.  

Each team made 15 free throws in the game. Dean shot 55.6%, while Fitchburg State made 71.4% from the line. The Bulldogs held a 38-34 edge on the boards, while the Falcons made five more three-pointers than Dean.