FRANKLIN, Mass. – The New England College men's basketball team couldn't overcome some early shooting woes in a 77-64 loss at Dean College on Wednesday at the Pieri Gymnasium in Franklin, Massachusetts in Great Northeast Athletic Conference action.  

THE BASICS 
Score: New England College 64, Dean College 77 
Records: Pilgrims 4-11, 1-3 GNAC| Bulldogs 6-8, 2-2 GNAC 

 
TURNING POINTS 

• The two teams went back-and-forth early, with four quick lead changes in the first five minutes of play. Following a three-pointer by senior guard Kyle Inglis (Burlington, Mass.) and a layup by graduate guard Jayden McGrew (Garland, Tex.), the 'Grims tied their largest lead of the young game at 19-14. But the Bulldogs battled back with an 8-0 run of their own to re-take the lead, 22-19.  
• Still in the first half, a triple from sophomore guard Kyle Dzarnowski (Boca Raton, Fla.) would return the game to a 26-26 tie with six minutes to go. But again, Dean would respond with a 6-0 run. The Bulldogs would take that same six-point lead into the break, leading 40-34, as the team's leading scorer on the season, senior guard AJ Weston (Kansas City, Mo.), scored all 10 of his first-half points in the final 6:22 before halftime.  
• Coming out of halftime junior guard Alex Williams (Miramar, Fla.) scored the first eight points of the second half for the 'Grims before a layup by sophomore guard Junior Efosa (Haverhill, Mass.) made it a 44-48 game with 12:47 to play. However, this time Dean would respond with a larger 10-0 run to take a 14-point lead.  
• Now facing the team's largest deficit of the day, sophomore guard Michael Hills (Baton Rouge, Lous.) would immediately connect on a long ball to reduce the Dean lead to 11. But the relentless offense of the Bulldogs would increase that lead to as high as 20 just three minutes later.  
• This proved to be a game of runs, as the Pilgrims would go on a 15-2 run sparked by 11 points from Inglis and four from Williams to reduce the deficit to seven, 64-71. But the Bulldogs would close out the game on a final 6-0 run to take the GNAC matchup by a score of 77-64.  

INSIDE THE NUMBERS 

• Following a slow start, Weston would finish with a game-high 25 points for the Bulldogs on 7 of 12 shooting from the floor and 11 of 12 from the charity stripe.  
• Inglis led the Pilgrims with 16 points, his new season high, while Williams earned his fifth double-double of the season with 14 points and 11 rebounds to go along with a game-high five assists. 
• Dean senior guard Charles Walker (Princeton, N.C.) scored 18 points and brought down seven boards, while senior guard Jayden Madise (Palmdale, Calif.) added 12 and seven.  
• Hills added 11 points in his second start of the year for the 'Grims, going a perfect six-of-six from the free-throw line.  
• Dean shot 46.4 percent from the field while NEC shot 32.9 percent. However, both teams struggled mightily from distance, as the Bulldogs shot 16.7 percent and the Pilgrims 19.0 percent from three-point range.  
• NEC won the rebounding battle 44-39 including 19 offensive rebounds - but Dean found a sizable 27-9 advantage in fastbreak points.

UP NEXT 

• Up next for NEC, the team stays on the road as they travel to Lasell University on Saturday at 4:00 PM in a continuation of GNAC league play.  
• Dean looks ahead to their next game on Saturday at Colby-Sawyer College with the GNAC action starting at 3:00 PM.  

For continuing coverage of New England College Athletics, visit athletics.nec.edu and follow the Pilgrims on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.