FRANKLIN, Mass. – February 4, 2023 – Senior Mark Blair (Rosedale, N.Y.) hit a three-pointer on the opening possession to help Dean College to a wire-to-wire 82-66 Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) victory over Elms on Saturday afternoon inside Pieri Gymnasium.  

The Bulldogs earned the season sweep of Elms after previously defeating the Blazers 90-72 on Jan. 7.

Dean (14-8, 9-6 GNAC) is off until next Saturday when the team will visit top-ranked University of Saint Joseph for a 3 p.m. tip. Elms (3-19, 2-13 GNAC) hosts Johnson & Wales on Wednesday at 8 p.m.

Junior AJ Weston (Kansas City, Mo.) poured in a game best 20 points for the Bulldogs. Mark Blair finished with 19 points on 8-of-13 shooting to go with 12 rebounds. Junior Jayden Madise (Palmdale, Calif.) shot 8-of-11 for 17 points and had a plus/minus rating of +32 for the game. Junior Jakobi Greenleaf (Houston, Texas) recorded 13 points, seven rebounds and a season high five blocks. Junior Malik Spearman (St. Paul, Minn.) notched his seventh double-double of the season with 11 points and 10 rebounds.

Elms was led by first-year Jake Midura (Chicopee, Mass.) who went 4-of-8 from long range to finish with 16 points. Graduate student Tahquell Cadle (Bridgeport, Conn.) registered 10 points, eight rebounds and seven assists. First-year RJ Mayfield (Springfield, Mass.) added 10 points.

Dean raced out to an 11-0 lead before a Mayfield layup stopped the run. The Bulldogs continued to use the long ball, connecting on their first six three-point attempts to help push the lead to 20 points in the opening minutes. The home team held a comfortable 38-22 lead with six minutes left in the half, before the Blazers went on a 15-2 run to close the frame and cut the deficit to three points, 40-37, at the break.

Elms shot 51.7% from the floor, while Dean made 45.2% in the half. After a hot start from beyond the arc, Dean finished the half 7-of-16 from long range. Weston scored 12 to lead Dean and Midura had 11 for Elms.

A Mayfield free throw on the first possession of the second pull Elms within a deuce, but that would be as close as they would get. The game remained within a couple of possessions midway through the frame before Dean turned up the defensive pressure and slowly build a lead en route to the victory.

The Dean defense forced 23 turnovers, including five 10-second backcourt violations and a shot clock violation. The Bulldogs cashed in by scoring 23 points off the Elms miscues. Dean also won the battle of the boards 40-30.