Bentley College Sports Information

WALTHAM, Mass. -- 29-0 and Northeast-10 Champions.

Bentley's perfect season continued Saturday afternoon with the Falcons, ranked second nationally in Division II, leading from start to finish en route to a 71-61 win over third-seeded Saint Rose in the championship game of the Northeast-10 Conference Men's Basketball Playoffs Saturday afternoon before 2,520 at the Dana Center.

The Falcons, who will be named host of next weekend's NCAA Division II Northeast Regional Sunday night after winning their second NE-10 playoff crown in six years, tied the all-time New England men's basketball record for consecutive wins, set by Holy Cross 57 years ago, from 1949-50.

As is usually the case, Bentley featured a balanced attack with four double figure scorers. Junior forward Nate Fritsch (Durham, N.C./Woodberry Forest HS) led the way with 17 points and a career-high six assists, senior post Jeff Holmes (Westbrook, Maine/Cheverus HS) followed with 16 (including the 1,000th of his career) and Lexington High products Danny Lawson (Lexington) and Lew Finnegan (Lexington) combined for 25 off the bench.

Bentley, after scoring the game’s first five points, used a 16-2 explosion to open a 25-10 lead eight-and-a-half minutes into the contest. How good were the Falcons in the opening 8:30? They shot 67 percent, including three treys, and didn’t commit either a turnover (the first game with 10:07 left) or a foul (the first coming with 5:41). Fritsch had the hot hand early, with 10 points in the first 5:05.

Saint Rose, which had overcome a 12-point deficit in the final 1:20 to win its semifinal game at Pace, came right back, using a 14-2 flurry to get back within three, 27-24.

A 13-5 Falcon spurt over the final 6:05 of the half enabled the home team to restore the lead to double figures heading into the break, 42-31. Senior wing Josh Correia (Bedford, N.H./Trinity HS) led the way with five of the 13.

After the second-half lead peaked at 14 when Holmes dunked off an inbound play for career points 1,000 and 1,001 (the 42nd Falcon to achieve that milestone), Saint Rose battled back again, this time with an 18-5 run to cut the margin to one, 52-51. Freshman reserve Jermaine Clark (Perth Amboy, N.J.) scored the final seven, including a three-ball that capped the run.

Bentley responded with a three-pointer from junior Yusuf Abdul-Ali (Springfield/New Leadership Charter School), the only basket of the night for the Falcon point guard. That began a 10-2 run that pushed the differential back to 10, 62-52. After Abdul-Ali’s trey and a pair of Saint Rose free throws, the spurt included a Holmes lay-up, a Finnegan triple and two free throws by Lawson.

After Saint Rose closed to within five, Finnegan scored five straight, a three-ball and two free throws, and Bentley was back up 10, 67-57 with 3:40 remaining. The Golden Knights netted the next four points, making it 67-61, but a shot clock-beating jumper by Fritsch and a driving lay-up by Finnegan wrapped up the victory.

Fritsch, seven of nine from the floor with three triples, complemented his 17 points and six assists with five rebounds. Holmes made six of nine shots and grabbed seven rebounds, including two big ones at the offensive end in the final five minutes.

Finnegan followed with 14 points off the bench and Lawson helped out with 11 points and four rebounds. Correia followed with eight points.

Saint Rose, 21-9, also had four double-figure scorers, with Clark leading the way with 14. Junior guard Will Monica (Great Falls, Va.), the hero of the semifinal win, followed with 14 points and eight rebounds, and NE-10 Player of the Year Steve Dagostino (Schenectady, N.Y.), a junior guard, scored 12. He struggled from the floor, making only three of 12, and was forced into two turnovers in the last four minutes.

Bentley shot 48 percent overall, with 10 three-pointers and a .682 field goal percentage inside the three-point arc. The Falcons also took very good care of the basketball, with just eight giveaways all afternoon.

Bentley became the first NE-10 team since Saint Anselm in 1996 to capture both the regular season and playoff titles without a conference loss. However, coach Jay Lawson’s club had to play 25 games against NE-10 foes, six more than Saint Anselm.