ALBANY – The College of Saint Rose men's basketball team was held to just seven field goals throughout the opening 20 minutes, which proved to be decisive in an 83-60 setback versus Bentley University in a Northeast-10 Conference clash tonight at the Daniel P. Nolan Gymnasium. The Falcons have now taken 10 consecutive meetings between the two squads dating back to the 2003-04 season.

Bentley (14-4/12-2 NE-10) came roaring out of the gate tonight. The Falcons ran off nine of the game's first 11 points to open up an 11-2 advantage just 5:42 in. Sophomore forward Dan O'Keefe completed the initial spurt with a fastbreak slam and a layup.

Saint Rose (13-6/8-6 NE-10) junior guard Shea Bromirski briefly silenced things with a 3-pointer at the other end. However, Bentley outscored the hosts 16-4 over the next 7:21 to push its lead to 18, 27-9, following a layup by sophomore guard Greg Jacques. The Golden Knights misfired on 6-of-8 shot attempts and coughed the ball up twice during that span.

The Falcons kept working efficiently that afforded them a comfortable 39-17 margin at the break. Saint Rose was a meager 29.2 percent (7-for-24) from the field, while Bentley hit at a 56.0 percent (14-for-25) clip and generated 17 points alone off of nine miscues by the Golden Knights.

Saint Rose began to find its stride in the first four minutes of the second stanza, but the damage was already done. Junior guard Rob Gutierrez sparked an 11-2 outburst with back-to-back jumpers and then capped it with a layup off a feed from sophomore guard Andre Pope to make it a 47-31 ballgame. Bentley made sure a Saint Rose comeback was not in the cards by running off 13 straight points to put things away.

Gutierrez paced the Golden Knights for the ninth time this year with 20 points. Bromirski added 13, while freshman guard Kareem Thomas tossed in 10 points in 23 minutes off the bench.

The Falcons had a balanced attack that featured 10 players in the scoring column, including five in double-digits. Senior forward Brian Tracey led the way with a “double-double” behind 15 points and 11 boards. Jacques added 13 points, five rebounds and four steals, while O'Keefe tossed in 13 points.

Both clubs have a pair of 3:30 pm league games scheduled for Saturday. Saint Rose heads to Stonehill College, while Bentley returns home to host Pace University.

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