PROVIDENCE, R.I.- THe Dean College Bulldogs men's basketball team lost for the first time this season, falling 66-52 against Johnson & Wales in a scheduled non-conference game against a Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) opponent. 

The Bulldogs trailed 30-26 at the halftime break. Dean shot 30% from the field in the first half, while the Wildcats hit on 44% of their field goals. Senior Ja'maine Davenport (Mays Landing, N.J.) had eight points in ten minutes off the bench, while sophomore guard Frankie Idlett (Miami, Fla.) scored nine in the opening frame. 

Seven minutes into the second half, the Wildcats drilled a three pointer to extend their lead to ten.  Dean would not cut the game back down to single digits again until their was just over a minute remaining. The Bulldogs mounted a comeback,, scoring five straight points, all on free throws, to cut a 13 point deficit down to eight with a minute to play, but ran out of time, and JWU held on for a 66-52 victory.

Junior Billy Ray Barnes III (Inglewood, Calif.) led Dean with 14 points while adding seven rebounds. Idlett recorded his first double-double of the season, notching 11 points and 11 boards. Davenport and Jaisan Parker (Durham, N.C.) both added ten points off the bench. Dean shot 16% from the field in the second half, to finish the game at a season-low 23%. The Bulldogs shot 3-18 (17%) from behind the arc. 

Dean (8-1) had won a program-best eight straight games to start the 2024-25 campaign, all at home, before traveling to Providence for their first road game. The Bulldogs are back in action on Saturday with their final game of the fall semester, traveling to Mitchell for a 1 p.m. start in another non-conference game against a GNAC foe.