FRANKLIN, Mass. – November 29, 2023 – The Dean College men's basketball team rallied from a 17-point second half deficit to defeat Eastern Connecticut State, 70-63, Wednesday night inside Pieri Gymnasium.

The Bulldogs (4-3) open Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) action on Saturday with a 3 p.m. home game against Regis. Eastern Connecticut State (1-6) returns home on Saturday to host UMass Boston at 1 p.m.

Dean senior AJ Weston (Kansas City, Mo.) scored 19 of his team best 21 points in the second half. He made 9-of-10 free throw attempts, including a few clutch conversions in the waning moments. Junior Tyler Newsom (Pendleton, Ore.) went 7-of-10 from the floor for 16 points and nine rebounds. Junior Tommy Huynh (Albuquerque, N.M.) ended the game with 11 points, four rebounds and four assists.

Eastern sophomore Jalen Hamblin (West Hartford, Conn.) led all players with a double-double of 25 points and 19 rebounds. Sophomore Dominick Dao (Terryville, Conn.) tallied 13 points and eight boards. First-year Jeremiah Graham (Jacksonville, Fla.) added 10 points.

The Warriors raced out to a 14-6 lead to force a Dean timeout five minutes into the contest. The Bulldogs clawed back to pull within 20-17 after a Huynh trey, midway through the half. The visitors kept the lead, however, which ballooned to 12 when junior Dan Wellington (Bridgeport, Conn.) drilled a long ball as the clock ran out for a 37-25 advantage after 20 minutes of action.

Each team grabbed 21 rebounds in the first. Eastern scored 20 points in the paint, while Dean had 14. Hamblin had 15 points on 6-7 shooting, while Graham had 10 on 5-6 from the floor to lead the Warriors. Newsom finished the first half with eight points and five boards to lead Dean. Huynh recorded seven points off the bench.

The Warriors scored the first five points of the second half to take a 42-25 lead, its largest of the game. Dean responded with a 15-0 spurt, capped by a Weston three-pointer, to cut the deficit to a bucket. After the teams traded baskets, Huynh hit a trey to give Dean its first lead since it was 6-4. Dao answered with a trey of his own to retake the lead for Eastern.

The Warriors held a slim margin for the next several minutes until a Moussa Berete (Richmond, Va.) layup put the Bulldogs back on top 58-57 with less than five minutes to play. Later, Weston made a long ball and a jumper on back-to-back possessions to give Dean a 65-59 advantage with 2:54 to play.

The Bulldogs made free throws down the stretch and held Eastern to four points in the final 3:37 to secure the comeback victory.

Dean outscored the Warriors 45-26 in the second half.