WALTHAM, MA – The hottest team in the Northeast-10 Conference was its usual self tonight as host Bentley upended The College of Saint Rose 88-67 at the Dana Center. The Falcons (17-2/12-2), ranked #12 in the nation according to this week's NABC Division II Coaches Poll, shot 63.3 percent (19-for-30) from the floor during the second half and outrebounded the Golden Knights (10-9/7-7 NE-10) by a 38-18 margin on the evening to run their win streak to 12 games.

The victory, coupled with Stonehill's 73-51 setback at the hands of visiting Le Moyne, puts the Falcons atop the league standings along with the former. Meanwhile, Saint Rose is now in the middle of an almost unbelievable seven-team tie for sixth place.

Saint Rose gave Bentley everything it could handle during the opening 27 minutes as the Golden Knights rallied from an eight point, 39-31, deficit at the break by outscoring the Falcons 17-7 during the first seven minutes of the second stanza.

Senior guard Jermaine Clark capped the run that gave Saint Rose a brief two point, 48-46; lead with 13:39 remaining. However, the Falcons responded with a 22-4 outburst that put them in the driver's seat, 68-52, with 8:04 remaining. The Golden Knights got no closer than 14 points the rest of the way.

All five starters wound up in double-figures for Saint Rose including Clark who had a team-high 15 points. Sophomore guard Shea Bromirski and sophomore forward Brian Hanuschak tossed in 14 each, while sophomore forward Sheldon Griffin and freshman guard Andre Pope added a dozen apiece. Pope also handed out six assists.

Junior forward Brian Tracey had 24 points and eight rebounds, while senior guard Jason Westrol finished with 17 points, five boards and six assists for Bentley.

Looking ahead, both teams return to league action with 3:30 pm dates Saturday. The Golden Knights will host none other than Stonehill, while Bentley heads to Pleasantville to meet Pace University.

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