Box Score WALTHAM, MA – The College of Saint Rose men's basketball team rallied from an 18-point first half deficit, but Bentley University proved its mettle down the stretch to hold on for a 64-60 Northeast-10 Conference victory over the Golden Knights this afternoon at the Dana Center. Saint Rose was thus unable to put together back-to-back wins for the first time this year, while the Falcons ran their record to 8-2 at home.

Senior forward Sheldon Griffin led three players in double-figures for the Golden Knights (2-13/2-9 NE-10) with 15 points behind 4-of-6 shooting from the arc. Junior guard Andre Pope added 13 points and a season-high seven assists, while sophomore forward Dominykas Milka registered his third career “double-double” behind 11 points and 10 boards.

Bentley (12-3/8-3 NE-10) received a game-high 17 points from sophomore guard Jasper Grassa. Senior guard Sam Leclerc tossed in 15 points as well.

The Golden Knights went ahead 5-0 after Pope opened the game with a 3-pointer and then fed senior forward Brian Hanuschak in the paint. However, the Falcons outscored Saint Rose 27-4 over the next eight minutes to open up an 18-point, 27-9, lead midway through the first half. Grassa put the finishing touches on an impressive outburst with a deep ball, one of 12 in the game for Bentley.

Griffin single-handedly piloted a 16-5 jaunt to pull the Golden Knights to within seven, 32-25, at halftime. He converted a layup as he was fouled, buried the ensuing free throw and then tossed in a trey of his own to get things going. Sophomore guard Kareem Thomas then drained a jumper, Griffin knocked down back-to-back 3-pointers and sophomore guard James Wilson closed the period with a layup.

Saint Rose continued to whittle away at its deficit and got to within a pair twice throughout the first 12 minutes of the second stanza. Its hard work finally came to fruition when Milka finished off a conventional 3-point play and Wilson dropped in a layup off his own steal to knot things at 44-44 with 6:50 to play.

Freshman forward Andrew Shaw provided the answer for the Falcons at the other end with a 'three', which sparked a decisive 14-4 outburst that afforded Bentley a 10-point, 58-48, margin with 2:34 to go. The Golden Knights hung tough and it was actually a one possession ballgame, 63-60, after Pope nailed a free throw with three seconds left. However, Leclerc sealed things by going 1-for-2 from the stripe in the waning moments.

Looking ahead, both teams return to action Tuesday night with a pair of league games on the docket. Saint Rose heads to Merrimack College, while Bentley is set to host Adelphi University. Both contests are slated to tip-off at 7:30 pm.