BENTLEY UNIVERSITY: Falcons not done playing favorites in NE-10 men's basketball

BENTLEY UNIVERSITY: Falcons not done playing favorites in NE-10 men's basketball
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By Staff reports
Daily News Tribune
Posted Nov 19, 2009 @ 01:30 AM

Senior All-America Jason Westrol scored a game-high 16 points and senior John Brandt led a strong bench effort with 14 points as Bentley University shot down Merrimack College, 72-58, last night at the Volpe Gym in a battle for early season supremacy in the Northeast-10 Conference.


Bentley, which has won an unprecedented five straight NE-10 men's basketball regular season championships and has now prevailed in the last 11 meetings in the series, had been ranked second in the preseason conference coaches poll, just behind Merrimack.


The victory in the conference opener boosted Bentley to 2-0 on the season. While the Falcons, ranked ninth nationally in Division II preseason, already had a win under their belt, 15th-ranked Merrimack was playing its first official game since falling to Bentley in double-OT in the 2009 NCAA East Regional semifinals last March.


This was a five-point contest with 12 minutes to play before Bentley asserted itself with a 13-4 run over a span of six minutes, a burst that put the visitors up 63-49. Westrol began the charge with an inside basket, and Brandt followed, making it 54-45.


After a Warrior basket, drives by Brandt and Westrol produced the Falcons' first double-figure lead of the night, 58-47. A Merrimack put-back was answered by five straight points by Brandt, a 3-ball and an 8-foot leaner.


Bentley's lead peaked at 18, 72-54, following a Westrol lay-up with just over a minute left.
Westrol, in addition to 16, finished with seven rebounds, four assists and a steal. Junior guard Tom Dowling (12 points, 5 assists) and junior guard Mike Quinn were the other starters who scored in doubles for Bentley, with Quinn finishing with 10 points, four helpers and four boards.
The Bentley bench combined to shoot 12 of 17 from the field and five of six from 3-point land, outscoring the Warrior reserves 29-16. Brandt made six of eight with a pair of triples, sophomore forward Kevin Kettl established career bests with nine points and six rebounds, and freshman guard Mike Topercer drilled two threes.


Merrimack's Darren Duncan and Darin Mency, two of the top seven scorers in the NE-10 a year ago, were held to a combined 21 points on 9-of-29 shooting. Senior Craig Woehnker led the Warriors with 14 points, most coming via four 3-pointers.


Next up for the Falcons is a non-conference game against Holy Family in Philadelphia Saturday (1 p.m.).

Women's Basketball
Bentley 71, Merrimack 62


Sophomore guard Katherine Goodwin scored a career-best 20 points, including 16 in the first 18 minutes, and junior forward Elise Caira added 16 points and eight rebounds, as Bentley University opened its Northeast-10 Conference schedule with a 71-62 win over Merrimack College in women's basketball action last night at the Volpe Gym.


Bentley, which led from the opening basket for the second straight game, improved to 2-0 on the season. Merrimack, hampered by poor shooting from three (6-28) and the free throw stripe (6-14), fell to 0-2 overall and 0-1 in the conference.


With Goodwin having the hot hand, points came fast and easy for the Falcons early. Bentley scored the game's first five, had a 12-3 lead before the contest was five minutes old, and was on top by 16, 24-8, after eight minutes of play. At that point, the Falcons were shooting the ball at a 69 percent clip, had buried three treys and had scored 10 points off turnovers.


With a little more than two minutes left until intermission, Goodwin knocked down her fourth 3-ball at the half, and Bentley had doubled the Warriors, 40-20. Merrimack closed the half by scoring the final seven points, and the advantage was down to 13 at the break, 40-27.


Attacking the offensive boards and taking advantage of Bentley's cold second-half shooting, Merrimack gradually cut into the Falcon lead. A 3 by senior Casey Miller made it a three-point game, 55-52, with 6:57 left, and it was a four-point differential as the game entered the final three minutes.


One of two free throws by Bentley senior forward Colette Josey made it 64-59 with 2:46 left, and it stayed that way until Goodwin hit a jumper with 1:03 remaining.


Bentley locked up the win by making five of six free throws in the final 43 seconds, three of four by Caira and a pair from senior post Kelly Barrett.


Goodwin, a transfer from Columbia, finished 8 of 14 overall with four 3-pointers and two assists. Caira's night also included four assists and two steals, and junior guard Kim Brennan was Bentley's other double-figure scorer. She finished with 11, and also filled the stat sheet with seven assists, four rebounds, two steals and two blocks.


Bentley, in the midst of playing four road games in seven days, will take on Bloomfield College Saturday at 1 p.m. in the UMass-Lowell Valley Cup.