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| Colin Scanlon set a new career-high with nine assists in Stonehill's 71-63 loss to Bentley. |
Late Surge Snaps No. 10 Skyhawks Win Streak
Easton, Mass. - Jason Westrol pumped in 20 points to lead a quartet of Falcons in double figures as Bentley snapped tenth-ranked Stonehill's 10-game winning streak with a 73-61 win over the Skyhawks at Merkert Gymnasium on Wednesday.
With the win, the Falcons have forced a four-way tie atop the Northeast-10 standings, as Stonehill, Bentley, UMass-Lowell and Merrimack all sit at 11-3 with eight games left on the regular season conference schedule.
The Skyhawks, who were looking to sweep the regular season series with the Falcons for the first time since the 2000-01 season, saw Bentley go on a game-clinching 14-0 run late in the second half after they had closed within one at 59-58 with less than five minutes left.
Stonehill, who had been playing catch up for most of the game, took a brief lead at 41-39 following A.J. Rudowitz's (Monroe Township, N.J.) rebound and inside basket early in the second half.
Bentley scored 10 of the game's next 12 points to claim a 49-43 edge on a Westrol hoop but Randall Stallworth (Toms River, N.J.) answered with a triple to keep the Skyhawks close.
It seemed, however, every Stonehill surge was followed by a Bentley burst evidenced by Brian Tracey's three-pointer and one-handed dunk on the break on consecutive possessions to give the Falcons more breathing room in the moments after Stallworth's three-pointer.
With Westrol (13 first-half points) as the catalyst, Bentley took a 39-34 lead into the half, as both teams were having success offensively.
Stonehill, which entered the game as one of the top defensive teams in the nation, allowed the Falcons to shoot 51 percent from the floor and 47 percent from behind the arc.
Lew Finnegan scored all of his 14 points in the final 20 minutes for Bentley, who has won eight straight since the Skyhawks snapped their 42-game home court winning streak in early January.
Led by Tracey's 15 points, Bentley held a huge advantage in points off the bench (20-8).
Both Matt Hall (Springfield, Mass.) and Stallworth had 18 points for Stonehill, while Rudowitz notched a double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds. Colin Scanlon (Centreville, Va.) finished with four points, six rebounds and a career-high nine assists in 33 minutes.
Stonehill (17-3) returns to the hardwood on Saturday when it hosts Franklin Pierce beginning at 1 p.m.