BROCKTON, Mass. ---- The Massasoit men's basketball hung around against the nationally ranked Dean Bulldogs, but eventually ran out of steam down the stretch, falling 87-70 at the Asiaf Field House on Monday night.
Massasoit featured a balanced scoring attack with five players posting 9-or-more points against an undefeated Dean (12-0) squad, that ranked No. 5 in the most recent NJCAA poll.
Danny Longmore (Bloomfield, Conn.) poured in a career-high and team-best 19 points for the Warriors (8-9), 14 coming in the second half. Nda Nnoli (Brockton) also posted a career-best in points, netting 14 in the loss.
Massasoit trailed 35-28 at the break, with most of the half being a one-possession contest.
In the second half, the Bulldogs pulled away, but a late run brought Massasoit back within 10 points, 74-64. However, big 3-pointers from Carlos Correa put the game out of reach in favor of Dean.
Correa led the Bulldogs with 26 points.
Paul Bentley (Bloomfield, Conn.) also reached double figures for Massasoit, finishing with 11, while Myles Dias (Carver) and M'Kenzi Ryan (Brockton) each finished with nine apiece.
Massasoit is off until Saturday, when the Warriors host Gateway CC at 3 p.m.
DEFENDING DEAN: Despite the loss, Massasoit held Dean nearly 11 points below its season average. The Bulldogs, the NJCAA's third highest scoring offense (97.7 per game), was kept in the 80s for just the third time this season. The 87 points are the second fewest the Bulldogs have scored in a game this year.
MORE FOR LONGMORE: Danny Longmore entered the night averaging just 1.4 points per game, before exploding for a career-best 19 against nationally-ranked Dean. Longmore had scored 20 points all season prior to his personal-best showing on Monday.
NO STOPPING NNOLI: Nda Nnoli also poured in a career-high point total, netting 14 and going a perfect 5-for-5 from the line. The freshman forward tallied just his second double-digit scoring performance of the season.
TOUGH NIGHT FROM DOWNTOWN: Massasoit made just four 3-pointers against Dean, tying its season-low from shots made from beyond the arc.