New London, N.H. – January 13, 2024 – The Dean College men's basketball team dropped a difficult decision to Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) rival Colby-Sawyer 79-78 on Saturday evening. Dean (6-9, 2-3 GNAC) will host Lasell on Tuesday for their next contest. Colby-Sawyer (6-10,2-2 GNAC) plays at New England College on Tuesday, as well.

Dean led 39-32 at halftime and held the lead throughout most of the second half. A late run from Colby-Sawyer trimmed a seven point Dean advantage to one (61-60) with eight minutes to play. The final minutes were a back and forth affair, with the hosts taking the lead for good on a layup from Bullen Taban with 53 seconds to play.

The Bulldogs were led by senior guard AJ Weston (Kansas City, Mo. ) who scored 21 points and added six assists. Fellow senior Charles Walker (Princeton, N.C.) finished with 20 points on 8-14 from the field. Deon Blakemore Jr. (Houma, La.) , Harlan Nichols (Las Vegas, Nev.), and Paris Smith (Chicago, Ill.), all reached double figures as well, scoring 12,11, and 10 points respectively. Smith also added seven boards. 

Dean shot 49% from the field, starting hot at 57% in the opening frame while finishing at 42% in the second half. The Bulldogs shot 3-7 from 3 point range in both halves. Colby-Sawyer finished 39% from the field, but enjoyed an advantage from three point land, shooting 38% on 12-31 shooting. 
 
Back-to-back jumpers by Blakemore Jr. extended the Bulldogs lead to 57-49 with 11 minutes to play in the game. Another Blakemore bucket minutes later pushed Dean's lead back to eight at 59-51. After a triple from Colby-Sawyer, Weston's ensuing floater in the paint extended the advantage to 61-54 with 10:08 to play. From there, Colby-Sawyer took control. The hosts scored seven straight points to trim the lead to 61-60.

The game was then tied at 66 and 71. Nichols three-pointer with 2 minutes to go gave Dean a 78-74 edge, but Colby-Sawyer responded with a long ball from Michael Joanou, before Taban's layup sealed the deal in the final minute.