NO. 8 BENTLEY EASES PAST MEN'S BASKETBALL 79-53
SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (November 29, 2006) -
Yusuf Abdul-Ali (Springfield, Mass.) drained three
three-pointers and totaled 15 points to lead eighth-ranked Bentley
College to a 79-53 win over American International College in
Northeast-10 men's basketball Wednesday night. The Falcons
remain unbeaten at 6-0 and 3-0 in the league, while the Yellow
Jackets are now 1-4 and 0-3 in NE-10 play.
Nate Fritsch (Durham, N.C.) was 5-5 from the floor and registered 13 points for Bentley, which shot 62.5% from the floor in the first half and 54.9% for the game. Jeff Holmes (Westbrook, Maine) added 11 points for the Falcons. Lucius Millinder (Belleville, N.J.) led American International with 14 points off the bench while Vernon Dupree (Wilmington, Del.) added 12 points. Brandon Carter (Wilmington, Del.) added five assists for AIC.
Bentley took control of the game when it scored 18 unanswered points capped by a Fritsch basket with 9:48 remaining in the first half to make it 30-14. The Yellow Jackets would respond with a 12-2 run of their own and a basket by Dupree with just under five minutes remaining made it a 32-26 ballgame. The guests countered with their own 11-0 run capped by a trifecta by Jason Westrol (Manasquam, N.J.) with 40 seconds left to make it 43-26 and the Falcons carried a 43-28 lead into the locker room.
AIC would chip away at the Bentley advantage and got it down to 10, 47-37, on a basket by Magen McNeil (Philadelphia, Pa.) with just over 15 minutes left. Bentley then scored 10 straight points to make it 57-37 at the 10:51 mark on a basket by Matt Bates (Oxford, Conn.) and the Yellow Jackets would get no closer the rest of the way. The Falcons took their largest lead, 79-51, with 40 seconds left on a basket by Michael Sikonski (Holden, Mass.).
Bentley outrebounded AIC 38-22 and limited the hosts to just 4-12 shooting behind the arc, while the Falcons were 9-21 from three-point land. Bentley was also 14-19 at the charity stripe while AIC was 3-5 at the line.
AIC returns to action Saturday when it hosts
Merrimack in a 3:30 contest.