Stallworth's Heroics Not Enough As No. 1 Bentley Prevails
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Colin Scanlon had nine points, five rebounds and seven assists in the loss at Bentley. |
Waltham, Mass. - Randall Stallworth (Toms River, N.J./Monsignor Donovan) scored all of his career-high 28 points in the second half, including the final 18 down the stretch for Stonehill but in the end it wasn't enough as the nation's top team, Bentley, improved to 29-0 with a 78-69 win at the Dana Center on Thursday night in the semifinals of the Northeast-10 championship.
Stallworth, who came into the contest averaging 7.6 points, went 12-of-15 in the second half, including 4-for-4 from behind the arc.
His scoring flurry trimmed a once 23 point Falcon lead to five at 74-69 with 21 seconds left, but the veteran Bentley squad made their free throws to seal their 33rd straight home win.
After the Skyhawks took their first lead of the season against the Falcons on a triple by Nick Smith (Colonia, N.J./Colonia) moments into the contest, the Falcons went on a 24-6 run to take early command of the game.
A conventional three-point play freshman Mike Kernan (Medford, N.J./Shawnee) and a rightside three from junior Colin Scanlon (Centreville, Va./Flint Hill) helped stem the tide but Bentley, which grew its first half bulge to as many as 17, settled for a 42-28 advantage at intermission.
Stonehill stayed close in the initial minutes of the second stanza, but a personal 7-0 run by Tom Dowling was followed by a Nate Fritsch triple that gave the Falcons a 62-39 lead.
But the hosts, who shot 55 percent in the first half, went cold, shooting just 38 percent in the final 20 minutes, allowing Stonehill to creep back into the game.
The Falcons held huge advantages in points in the paint (34-20), points off turnovers (22-12), bench points (30-5) and fast break points (13-4).
With the win, Bentley advances to the Northeast-10 Tournament Championship game to face Assumption on Saturday at 1 p.m.
Matt Hall (Springfield, Mass./Central) was the only other Skyhawk in double figures with 11 points, although Scanlon had nine points, five rebounds and seven assists.
Stonehill, now 18-14, will await their NCAA Tournament fate which will be determined on Sunday, March 16 when the NCAA Division II Men's Basketball Committee releases the pairings.