FRANKLIN, Mass. - The Albertus Magnus College men's basketball team earned its first win of the 2022-23 season as the Falcons topped the Bulldogs of Dean College, 76-74, on the road Wednesday evening in Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) action. 

Graduate student Terry Dawkins (Bronx, N.Y.) led the Falcons' attack with a season-high 24 points, seven rebounds, a steal, and a block. Fellow teammates Antonio Bonilla (Tenafly, N.J.) and Jeyson Slade (Stamford, Conn.) rounded out the Falcons' double-digit scorers with 12 and 10 points, respectively. 

Graduate student Bryan Assie (Stamford, Conn.) also had an excellent game for the Falcons, as the center pulled down 10 boards and chipped in with six points.     

THE BASICS
Final: Albertus Magnus 76 | Dean 74 
Records: Albertus Magnus (1-5, 1-1 GNAC) | Dean (6-3, 1-1 GNAC)
Box Score

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Albertus and Dean battled for the lead early in regulation as the two teams traded baskets over the first two minutes of play, with Dean taking a 5-4 lead off of a made three-pointer from AJ Weston. 
• From there, Dean continued to score offensively, putting together a 6-2 run that extended its lead to five, 11-6, forcing Albertus to call a timeout at 14:27.
• Out of the break, Albertus and Dean traded baskets with the Bulldogs remaining on top, 16-12, until back-to-back baskets from Jacqual Gertrude (Jersey City, N.J.) and Assie tied the game for a second time, 17-17, forcing a Bulldogs' timeout. 
• The Bulldogs put together a quick 4-0 spurt to take the 21-17 lead before Albertus' Slade swished a deep trey to bring the Falcons within one, 21-20, with 8:32 left to play in the first half. 
• At the 7:16 mark, Albertus regained the 24-23 lead as Dawkins hit the turnaround jumper following a steal from Tashawn Tokley (Merchantville, N.J.). 
• Over the next three minutes of play, Albertus and Dean forced three ties before the Falcons pulled away with a 5-0 run off of a pair of made free throws from Dawkins and a deep three from Davon Warner (New Haven, Conn.).  
• The Bulldogs got right back into it with a three-pointer from Jakobi Greenleaf at the 4:15 mark before Gertrude responded immediately with his own three to push the Falcons' advantage back up to five, 36-31, with just over four minutes left to play in the first half.  
• The back-and-forth action continued for the remainder of the stanza before Gertrude and Warner combined to give AMC a 4-0 push to put the visitors ahead, 42-36, at the half. 
• Dean opened the second half with a 13-3 run over the first 4:54 of play to take a 49-45 lead until a pair of free throws from Dawkins ended the run, 49-47. 
• Albertus chipped away at the Bulldogs' lead as Slade put in a lay-up to spark a 9-2 run that put the Falcons on top, 58-55, with 11:20 remaining in regulation and forcing a Dean timeout. 
• Albertus maintained its lead out of the huddle and found themselves up nine, 68-59, at the 7:28 mark following back-to-back baskets from Slade and Warner. 
• A pair of free throws from AJ Weston would cut the deficit to five, 68-65, but a free throw from Dawkins gave the Falcons a nine-point cushion, 76-67, with 3:51 left to play.
•  Following the point from Dawkins, Dean erupted for seven unanswered points to make it a 76-74 game with 20 seconds remaining in regulation.  
• Despite the exciting finish, the Falcons remained stout on defense and denied Dean the opportunity to score, walking away with the 76-74 nail-biter victory. 

TEAM STATS
Albertus: 45.3 % FG | 29.2 % 3PT | 73.3 % FT
Dean: 45.2 % FG | 25.0 % 3PT | 65.2 % FT 

PLAYER HIGHLIGHTS
Albertus:
Terry Dawkins - 24 points (9-13 FG, 6-8 FT) | 7 rebounds | 1 block | 1 steal 
Antonio Bonilla - 12 points (5-8 FG, 2-5 3PT) | 2 rebounds | 1 assist | 1 steal 
Jeyson Slade - 10 points (4-7 FG, 1-2 3PT, 1-2 FT) | 5 rebounds | 7 assists | 3 steals

Dean:
AJ Weston - 19 points (7-18 FG, 2-4 3PT, 3-4 FT) | 2 rebounds | 3 assists | 3 steals
Jakobi Greenleaf - 14 points (5-7 FG, 1-1 3PT, 3-4 FT) | 10 rebounds | 2 assists | 1 steal
Jayden Madise - 11 points (4-5 FG, 3-4 FT) | 4 rebounds | 2 assists | 2 steals 
Malik Spearman - 10 points (5-13 FG, 0-2 3PT, 0-2 FT) | 4 rebounds | 2 assists | 1 block | 4 steals 

NOTEWORTHY

• The Falcons are now 2-0 all-time against Dean College. 
• Albertus set a season-high in defensive rebounds (31), total rebounds (44), and assists (13).
• Dawkins has led the Falcons in the last four games.
• Slade recorded his second double-digit scoring performance of the season. 
• Dawkins tied his season-high in points with 24. 
• Bonilla recorded his third double-digit point performance of the season. 
• Assie recorded a season-high 10 rebounds. 

UP NEXT
The Falcons continue their road trip with a bout against conference-foe Norwich University on Saturday, December 10th. Tip-off is set for 3 PM inside Andrews Hall in Northfield, Vermont.