THE BASICS
-Score: Bentley University 96, Assumption College 87
-Records: Assumption (4-4, NE10 1-3), Bentley (7-1, NE10 2-0)
-Location: Worcester, Mass. (Laska Gymnasium)
-The Lead: The Assumption College men's basketball team fell to the Falcons of Bentley University in Northeast-10 Conference action on Tuesday night. The Falcons led by just one at halftime and the game saw a total of 10 ties and eight lead changes before the visitors pulled away for the 96-87 victory.
HOW IT HAPPENED
-Assumption pulled ahead 11-4 early in the first half on a drive to the basket by red-shirt junior Malik Brown (Waldorf, Md. / Northpoint). The Falcons responded with three baskets to come within one, 11-10, at the 13:39 mark.
-The half saw three more ties before Bentley pulled ahead by as many as nine on a jumper by sophomore Adria Amabilino Perez, with under four minutes to go.
-The Hounds responded with a six-point run of their own, capped off with a move under the basket by senior Branislav Vujadinovic (Belgrade, Serbia / St. Joseph) to come within three, 34-31. Bentley held on to take a one-point advantage into the halftime break, 36-35.
-Sophomore Cal Connelly (Rochester, N.H. / Spaulding / Tilton) knocked down a shot from behind the arc to tie the game at 44-44 and junior Matthew Kelly (North Potomac, Md. / Quince Orchard) pushed the Hounds ahead with a drive to the basket just over three minutes into the second half. Brown made back-to-back layups to extend Assumption's lead to 50-46 before Bentley used a three and a jumper from senior Chris Hudson to regain a three-point lead.
-After tying the game two more times, Bentley used a 5-0 run to pull ahead by as many as nine with 5:51 to go, 72-63. Assumption closed the gap to six with a three by Kelly, but the Falcons used five more unanswered baskets for the 82-66 go-ahead.
-Assumption made a bid at a comeback, knocking down four three-pointers in the final 1:24 of play, but Bentley held on for the final 96-87 victory.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
-Kelly led the Hounds with 27 points and six assists on the night. He added four rebounds and three steals. Brown finished with 20 points and first year Kani Glover (Brockton, Mass. / Catholic Memorial / Bridgton Academy) came off the bench going 3-for-3 from behind the arc to add nine points for the hosts.
-Junior Jordan Mello-Klein put up a game-high 28 points for the Falcons and added eight rebounds in the victory. Hudson added 23 points while junior Pete Blust put up 20 and sophomore Mason Webb rounded out double-digit scoring with 14.
-Bentley finished the night shooting 61.3% (38-62) from the field. Assumption shot 50.7% (35-69) from the field.
-The Hounds shot 38.7% from three-point range (12-31). The Falcons shot 18.2% from behind the arc (2-11).
-Bentley outrebounded Assumption 38-24 in the contest.
UP NEXT
-The Hounds hit the road on December 18th when they travel to Saint Michael's College for an NE10 contest at 7:30 p.m.
STAY CONNECTED
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