Men’s Basketball downed by undefeated Dean College

FRANKLIN, Mass. --- Carlow University men's basketball concluded its trip to Boston with a 77-69 loss to Dean College at Pieri Gymnasium Sunday afternoon.

Byron Gaskins (Woodbridge, Va./Christ Chapel Academy) and Jimmy Giannetta (Pittsburgh, Pa./Saint Joseph HS) led Carlow with 14 points apiece. Adnan Sbai (Camp Hill, Pa./East Pennsboro Area HS/Seton Hill University) scored 12 points off the bench, and Riley Comforti (Scottdale, Pa./Southmoreland HS) contributed 10 points, eight rebounds and five assists in the effort.

The Celtics (1-5) led the entire first half, mincing up the man coverage defense of the Bulldogs (6-0), shooting 47.1 percent (16 for 34) from the field and scoring six of their eventual nine three-pointers.

Dean whittled Carlow's 15-point advantage to a 10 point lead, trailing 40-30 at intermission.

The Bulldogs raced to a 13-4 run to start the second half, as Carlow maintained a tenuous grip on its lead.

Gaskins sank three foul shots in a row after a foul was called on a three-point attempt to give Carlow a 47-43 lead, but another trey brought Dean right back to within a point of tying the game, 47-46. Foul shots tied the game and gave the Bulldogs their first lead of the day, 48-47, with 14 minutes remaining in the half. Clayton Cook (Brookville, Pa./Brookville Area HS) tied the game at 48-all with a foul shot, but the Bulldogs held Carlow scoreless for over five-and-a-half minutes to extend their advantage to 11 points.

Comforti hit a layup and broke the scoring drought for the Celtics who were trailing by nine with eight minutes left in the half. The Bulldogs went ahead 12, but back-to-back treys by Gaskins and Giannetta brought Carlow back to a single-digit deficit. Dean scored a layup immediately following a Carlow timeout, before a layup by Jordan Cannon (Cleveland, Ohio/Lutheran East/West Virginia Wesleyan) cut the lead to eight once again.

Comforti ripped down an offensive rebound in the next possession, kicking it out to Giannetta who drained a three to cut Dean's lead to five with 4:36 on the clock. The teams traded time at the charity stripe, and Giannetta dropped two foul shots to put Carlow within four points of tying the game and 4:05 left to play. The teams traded fouls the remainder of the game, with the double bonus for Dean late in the half sealing Carlow's fate.

The Celtics outrebounded Dean 36-32 and outscored them 18-11 off the bench. The Bulldogs shot 52 percent (13 for 25) from the field in the second half compared to Carlow's 32 percent (8 for 25) and scored 20 points alone at the foul line on the day.

Christian Yeates scored a game-high 17 points and eight rebounds to lead the Bulldogs. Billy Ray Barnes scored 16 points and dished out six assists, and two other starters combined for 24 points and nine assists on the day.

Carlow travels to Waynesburg University for a 2 p.m. game Nov. 30.