Press Release

BASKETBALL DROPS CONFERENCE OPENER AT BENTLEY FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                      FOR MORE INFORMATION December 1, 2004                                                                     Contact: Seth Cole Courtesy Bentley Sports Information                                           Phone: (802) 654-2537 WALTHAM, Mass. – Sophomore forward Jeff Holmes (Westbrook, Maine/Cheverus HS) scored a career-high 18 points in 16 minutes off the bench, and senior post Greg Lacasse (Rochester, N.H./Spaulding HS) added 16 points in 17 minutes as Bentley College used 50 points in the paint to roll past St. Michael's College, 95-70, in Northeast-10 Conference men's basketball Wednesday night at the Dana Center.         Bentley, which shot over 50 percent for the fourth time this season, improved to 6-2 overall and 3-0 in the NE-10 following a game in which the Falcons maintained a lead of at least 20 points for the final 23 minutes. St. Michael's fell to 3-3 overall (0-1 NE-10) after its third straight loss.         Bentley wasted no time establishing control, jumping out to a 15-2 five minutes into the game. Junior guard Tim Forbes (Attleboro/Attleboro HS) hit a pair of three pointers early, extending his streak of consecutive made triples to eight, and had eight of the 15 points. On the other hand, the Purple Knights turned the ball over six times during that stretch, and made only one of their first five shots.         The Falcons gradually built on the lead throughout the first half and went into the break up 22, following a 16-point, eight-rebound half by Lacasse. In the opening stanza, Bentley shot 51 percent from the floor, and coupled that with 10 offensive rebounds, which resulted in 14 second-chance points.         St. Michael's, which had reduced a 21-point halftime lead to one last January when the two teams met up in Vermont, never threatened in the second half and the lead would peak at 34, 79-45, just before the midpoint of the final stanza.         Holmes was near-perfect from the field, hitting his first eight shots and finishing eight-of-nine. He also helped out with six rebounds.         Holmes and Lacasse, who led the Falcons with eight rebounds, were joined in double figures by three teammates. Forbes finished with 13 points, junior guard Sean Cooke (East Windsor, N.J./Notre Dame HS) had a dozen, and sophomore guard Danny Lawson (Lexington/Lexington HS) had his first career game with double-digit points, finishing with 11 in 14 minutes off the bench.         Junior guard BJ Robertson (Burlington, Vt.) led St. Michael's with 17 points on 7-for-11 shooting. Junior forward Mike Keating (Saint Paul, Minn.), the team's leading scorer over the first five games (19 ppg), was held to 15 below his season norm on just two-for-10 shooting.         Bentley outshot the Knights, 51-42 percent, and had a 10-2 advantage in three-pointers. In addition, the Falcons took very good care of the basketball with only 13 turnovers, six fewer than St. Michael's. Coach Lay Lawson's club outscored the visitors 50-30 in the paint and 23-7 off turnovers.         The Falcons are back in action Saturday afternoon when they travel to Manchester, N.H. to take on ninth-ranked (Division II) and undefeated Saint Anselm College in a 3:30 p.m. encounter.   WALTHAM, Mass. – Senior forward and conference Player of the Week Shevon Gibbons (Fayetteville, N.C.) scored 14 points and tied the school record for consecutive field goals made (16) for the second time this season as Bentley College, ranked 16th in the preseason USA Today/WBCA Division II coaches poll, won its fourth straight, 63-36 over St. Michael's in Northeast-10 Conference women's basketball Wednesday night at the Dana Center.         Bentley, which improved to 3-0 in the conference and 8-1 overall, allowed its fewest points in a conference game since Feb. 1997 when the Falcons limited Quinnipiac to 36. St. Michael's, which was opening its NE-10 schedule, slipped to 2-2 overall.         Gibbons, who saw her consecutive made streak halted when she missed an eight-footer on her second shot of the night, led a balanced attack for the Falcons, who established control from the start, scoring the game's first 12 points. St. Michael's, 0-43 all-time against Bentley, never reduced the lead below double digits the rest of the night.         The lead was a commanding 21 at the half, 35-14, with Bentley dominating in virtually every aspect of the game over the opening 20 minutes. The Falcons shot 54 percent, limited the Knights to 30 percent, forced 14 turnovers, and had an 18-2 advantage in points off turnovers in the first half.         St. Michael's cut the lead to 17, 47-30 with 8:12 left in the game, but any thoughts of a comeback were erased when the Falcons ran off the next 13 to double the visitors, 60-30 with 3:44 remaining. Sophomore guard Shannon Kirwan (Melrose/Melrose HS) scored five of the 13, including a three-pointer to get the run started.         Gibbons, who also had seven rebounds, was joined in double figures by junior forward Kate Kelley (Hull/ Notre Dame HS) and freshman forward Vanessa Lux (Arundel, Maine/McAuley HS), each of whom had 10 points. Lux established career highs across the board with 10 points, seven rebounds and three assists in 24 minutes off the bench, and Kelley made five of six shots from the floor.         Bentley also received eight points and eight rebounds from senior guard Morgan DiPietro (Portland, Maine/Greely HS), and seven points from senior guard Chanté Bonds (Brockton/Brockton HS), who did an outstanding job in containing Brigid Hegarty (North Andover), who entered the game as the conference's leading scorer (24.3 ppg). She was limited to four points on one-for-nine shooting.         St. Michael's was carried by sophomore guard Dani Rayner (Westminster, Vt.), who finished with 20 points on eight of 14 shooting. In fact, she netted 20 of her club's first 30 points in the contest. No other St. Michael's player scored more than four points, and the rest were a combined six of 31 from the floor.         Overall, Bentley outshot the Knights 48-31 percent, dominated the boards (37-25), had a 15-1 advantage in second-chance points, and scored 22 points off 21 St. Michael's turnovers.  The Falcons were also perfect at the line, making all nine of their free throw attempts.         Bentley, which doesn't return to the Dana Center until Dec. 19, will visit Saint Anselm Saturday afternoon (1:30 p.m.).                                                            ###PURPLEKNIGHTS###

For more information please contact the SMC Sports Information Office at (802) 654-2537
Last Revised: October 25, 2002