Bentley Edges Franklin Pierce, 66-64
Falcons erase six-point deficit with 4:00 to play with 8-0 run
WALTHAM, Mass. (February 7, 2006) - Bentley College, receiving votes in this week's NABC Division II poll, erased a six-point deficit with 4:13 to play to escape with its 11th-straight win, a 66-64 decision over Franklin Pierce in Northeast-10 Conference women's basketball action at the Dana Center tonight.
Junior Jeff Holmes (Westbrook, Maine) led Bentley with 16 points, including the winning basket with five-seconds to go, as he hit 8-of-10 shots from the field to go with seven rebounds (four offensive). Senior Sean Cooke (East Windsor, N.J.) finished with 13 points, six assists, four steals and three rebounds, while classmate Danny Whall (Roslindale, Mass.) chipped in ten points (seven first half), four assists and two steals.
Freshman Timothy Munch (Blauvelt, N.Y./Storm King Prep) scored 16 of his game-high 22 points in the first half to keep Franklin Pierce in the contest. He hit 8-of-13 shots from the field (5-8 first half), including 2-4 from three-point range, to go with a team-best seven rebounds.
Junior Sean Mayo (Saco, Maine/Thornton Academy) was the only other Raven in double-digits with 13 points, adding six rebounds (five offensive) and two assists. He canned 3-of-4 three-pointers and has now drained nine of his last ten attempts from beyond the arc over the last five games. Senior Pierre Sully (Jamaica Plain, Mass./North Cambridge Catholic) chipped in eight points (all second half), five rebounds and two steals, but saw his streak of 13-straight games in double-figures end.
Franklin Pierce held its largest lead of the night (64-58) after a Munch jumper and Jack Barrett (Reading, Mass./Andover) drive with 4:13 to play. However, Bentley scored the last eight points of the contest to pull out the win as the Ravens turned the ball over twice and missed its last three shots (two three's) down the stretch.
Junior Josh Correia (Bedford, N.H.) hit one of two at the line and scored a basket to pull the Falcons within three (64-61) with 3:10 to play, then Cooke drained a three with 1:01 to go and set up Holmes for the winning hoop with five seconds on the clock. The Ravens got a look at the other end, but sophomore Joseph Chatman's (Boston, Mass./BC High) three at the buzzer was off the mark.
Bentley looked to run away with the contest early, scoring the game's first seven points and holding leads of 20-7 (11:43 to play in the first) and 29-13 (7:43). However, Franklin Pierce responded behind a hot-shooting Munch to draw within seven at the break (37-30). Munch sparked the rally with a three and scored seven points over the final 6:26 of the stanza, while Mayo (seven points) and junior Darryl Minnifield (Boston, Mass./Brookline) each canned three's during the spell.
After sophomore Nate Fritsch (Durham, N.C.) opened the second half with a basket for Bentley, Franklin Pierce used a 14-6 run to draw within a point (45-44) after a Sully jumper with 14:23 to play. Sully and Mayo each drained three's during the run and Munch turned in a fastbreak dunk to spark things.
Barrett and Minnifield scored back-to-back driving lay-ups to force the first tie (48-48), before Chatman gave the Ravens their first lead (50-48) with a fastbreak lay-up with 12:09 to go. The game was tied (57-57) with 6:15 to go when Sully canned a three to spark Franklin Pierce's 6-0 run to put the Ravens up six before Bentley's final rally.
Franklin Pierce (13-9, 10-7 NE-10) returns home on Thursday when it hosts Saint Anselm College, ranked No. 21 in this week's NABC Division II poll, at 7:30 p.m. Bentley (17-6, 14-4 NE-10) hosts Southern New Hampshire University Saturday at 3:30 p.m.