(Photo Courtesy: Deanbulldogs.com)
In a conference matchup for the Dean men’s basketball team, the Bulldogs fall to Johnson and Wales University 77-62 in Providence on Tuesday evening. Dean falls to 13-7, while the Wildcats improve to 9-10 on the season.
Dean was unable to continue their first-half success they have shown in the last couple of games. The Bulldogs pace of play early on appeared slower and weaker than the quicker and smoother style the Wildcats starters were competing at. Dean struggled to grab offensive rebounds and could not get second-chance points. For the second consecutive game, Dean's shooters faced a low field goal percentage on their first half shot attempts.
The Wildcats received a big boost from Josh Zangerle and Aierus Raspberry, combining for thirty first-half points. Johnson and Wales also benefited from converting on seven of eight made free throws on six fouls surrendered by Dean in the first. At the end of the first half, the Wildcats had a 41-24 halftime lead over the Bulldogs.
Coming out of the break, Dean could not come up with any solutions, as their play resembled their previous half's struggles. However, as the second progressed, a few defensive stops and an improved offense cut the Bulldogs deficit to as close as six. The narrow deficit Dean was facing began to increase as Dean could not defend the Wildcats late.
Despite the comeback effort, the Bulldogs were unsuccessful in completing the comeback.
Dean’s next game will be on Thursday on the road at Saint Joseph’s College of Maine, at 7:30.