Dean Men's Basketball Falls to University of Hartford

Xavier Boyd driving to the basket. Photo Courtesy: Julia Dommel

FRANKLIN, MA – The Dean College Men’s Basketball team fell to the University of Hartford 74-72 at Pieri Gymnasium Wednesday night.

In a game that became an instant classic and an overtime thriller, it was freshman Max Shosa who led the Bulldogs, and all scorers with 21 points.

The first half saw both teams struggling from range. After starting the season hot from three-point range, Dean shot 3-14 in the first half. They relied on paint touches and operating in the mid-range. Randy Vasquez continued his paint dominance, grabbing three offensive rebounds and getting two quick buckets to start the game.

“Randy has been incredible so far this year on the boards and has really bought in to being that anchor down low.” said Head Coach Joe Cabral.

Naser Motley was another driving force in the first half, getting to the cup for multiple layups and knocking down his midrange shot. Donnary Fontenot, Shosa, and Cedric Louis all contributed to Dean’s points in the paint.

The Bulldogs have developed a knack of finding a last second shot, and Christian Yeates seems to be their target. Yeates hit another tough shot with only four seconds left in the first half to extend the Bulldogs lead to 35-31 heading into the break.

The second half began in Hartford’s favor, as they came out and scored nine quick points to take a 40-37 lead. Both teams exchanged blows throughout the rest of the second half. Shosa got hot in the ensuing minutes lacing three 3-point shots which cut down the Hawks lead to just one.

Xavier Boyd took on a heavier load in the second, scoring eight points including back-to-back buckets which gave the Bulldogs their first lead since the start of the half.

However, no shot was bigger than Motley’s game tying shot with only 46 seconds left in the game. Motley caught a pass on the wing, drove his defender into the paint before turning and fading away from the basket and drilling a midrange shot.

Both teams had a shot to win in regulation, but neither could capitalize. Overtime saw Shosa hit another three, but it wasn’t enough as Dean shot 1-7 from the field in the overtime period, Hartford went on to ice the game on free throws, winning 74-72.

The loss sets the Bulldogs back to 2-2 and they will face the Anna Maria AMCATS at home Saturday at 3pm.