January 14, 2009
MBB: BENTLEY SHOOTS PAST LE MOYNE, 65-56, IN NE-10
ACTION
Syracuse, N.Y. - Lew Finnegan scored 17 points, all in the first
half, to lead Bentley University to a 65-56 victory over the Le
Moyne College men's basketball team on Wednesday night at Ted Grant
Court.
Finnegan connected on 6-of-15 shots, including 3-of-9 from
three-point range, to lead three Falcons in double-figures. Tom
Dowling scored 12 points and Brian Tracey registered 11 points off
the bench. Junior forward Laurence Ekperigin (Cortlandt
Manor, N.Y./Walter Panas) led the Dolphins with 16 points,
nine rebounds and a pair of blocks. Ekperigin, who finished one
rebound short of his 10th consecutive double-double, became the
third Le Moyne player to register 1,000 points, 600 rebounds and
100 blocked shots. Freshman guard Chris Johnson
(Lindenhurst, N.Y./Lindenhurst) came off the bench to
record 13 points. Sophomore forward Kevin Roth (Lake View,
N.Y./St. Francis) pulled down nine rebounds and added
eight points.
The Dolphins used a 13-0 run over a span of 5:05 closing the first
half and opening the second half to knot the score at 33 apiece
with 17:12 remaining in the contest. Senior swingman Phil
Barnes (Georgetown, Cayman Islands/Clinton C.C.) recorded
a conventional three-point play to even the score.
Bentley, the two-time defending regional champions, answered back
with eight consecutive points and 14 of the game's next 16 points
to pull away. Dowling opened the stretch with a three-pointer and a
foul shot, Tracey scored seven points in a row and Jason Westrol
registered a fast-break layup and foul shot to give Bentley a 47-35
advantage with just over 12 minutes remaining in the contest.
Johnson answered back with a three-pointer and Corbin converted a
fast-break layup to pull the Dolphins within seven points, but that
was as close as they would get the rest of the game.
The Falcons stretched their lead back to a game-high 16 points with
6:17 remaining before the Dolphins mounted one last comeback
attempt. Bentley used three-pointers from Mike Quinn, Dowling and
Tracey to push out to the 16-point lead. Ekperigin led Le Moyne's
final rally with a pair of baskets in the paint, while Barnes and
freshman guard James Cormier (Trumbull,
Conn./Trumbull/Proctor Academy) added layups to bring the
Dolphins to within eight with 2:50 left in the game.
Finnegan opened the game with seven points over the opening five
minutes as the Falcons jumped out to a 12-4 lead. Johnson came off
the bench to score seven consecutive points of his own to bring his
team to within a point with 11:33 remaining. After Mike Sikonski
and Roth traded layups, the Falcons rattled off 10 straight points
to build a 24-13 lead. Finnegan jumpstarted the streak with seven
points and Quinn drilled a three-pointer to cap the span.
Following a layup by Roth, Bentley used a 9-5 spurt to take a
13-point lead, its largest of the half. Dowling, Finnegan and Quinn
registered three-pointers to account for the Falcons' points.
Corbin hit a layup and classmate Kevin Hassett (Phoenix,
Ariz./Desert Mountain/Iona) scored four points to close
out the half.
Le Moyne (7-9, NE-10 4-8) looks to snap a four-game losing streak
on Saturday in Manchester, N.H. against Saint Anselm at 3:30
p.m.
-agate-
Bentley 65, Le
Moyne 56
Bentley (13-4, NE-10 7-3)
33
32
-
65
Le Moyne (7-9, NE-10 4-8)
26
30
- 56
