THE BASICS
Score: Dean College 70, Elms College 37
Records: Dean College (13-9, 7-4 NECC), Elms College (2-20, 2-9 NECC)
Location: Pieri Gymnasium, Franklin, Mass.
Date: Thursday, February 8, 2018
Time: 7:00 PM

THE LEAD:
Dean College jumped out to a 23-2 lead midway through the first half and the Bulldogs were never really pushed as they raced past visiting Elms College 79-37 in New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) men's basketball action on Thursday evening.

Randolf Thurman (Swampscott, Mass.) finished with 20 points on an extremely efficient 7-for-10 shooting from the field to lead all scorers.

HOW IT HAPPENED:
The Bulldogs actually scored the first nine points of the game after Jordan Booker (Waterbury, Conn.) found Dayvon Russell (Naugatuck, Conn.) for an easy hoop less than four minutes into the game.

Greg Metelus snapped the Dean scoring spree with his baseline jumper, but the hosts ran off 14 straight points highlighted by five points including a wing three-pointer from Malik Brown (Miami, Fla.).

Ahead by 21, the Dean advantage ballooned to 30-5 late in the half before the Bulldogs settled for a 39-15 halftime lead.

Dean saw its lead still sitting at 24 early in the second half when they sealed the game with a 20-7 burst that featured baskets from five different Bulldogs, including a baseline jumper from Jerel Carter (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.).

The Bulldogs saw its lead reach its peak late in the fourth quarter when Michael Burnett (Miami Beach, Fla.) drained back-to-back three-pointers with a little more than two minutes left.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS:
Dean held the Blazers to just 24 percent shooting for the game and forced 28 turnovers that they converted into 29 points.

The Bulldogs shared the ball extremely well, handing out 18 assists on their 29 baskets.

In addition to Thurman's game-high 20 points, Booker ended with 13 points, eight rebounds and five assists. Russell totaled 12 points, four rebounds and four assists and Baker had eight points and 12 rebounds.

Elms had nobody reach double figures, but Metelus finished with eight points on 4-for-12 shooting.

UP NEXT:
The Bulldogs will hit the road on Saturday for a rare weekend night matchup as they visit Lesley University at 7:00 PM. The Blazers, meanwhile, head to Boston on Saturday as well, visiting Wheelock for a 12:00 PM tip off.