PLEASANTVILLE, N.Y. – Junior running back Martin Bannerman (Pawtucket, R.I./La Salle Academy) rushed for a career-high 181 yards and a touchdown, powering Bentley University to a hard-fought 15-13 win over Pace University in Northeast-10 Conference football at rainy Pace Stadium Friday night.

While Bannerman accounted for 181 of Bentley's 261 yards of total offense, it was a pair of key defensive stops that were instrumental in the Falcons' 13th consecutive win in the series.

With the Falcons on the short end of a 13-12 score with about one minute left in the third, senior defensive end Paul Norris (North Attleboro. Mass./North Attleboro HS) recovered a fumble on the Pace 46. Bannerman took it into the red zone with consecutive runs of 11, 10, eight yards. Following a sack on third down, senior Michael Baron (Medfield, Mass./Roxbury Latin School) drilled his second field goal of the game, this one a 31-yarder, to give Bentley the two-point lead with 12:22 to play.

The next takeaway came with 4:33 to play after Pace began a drive on its own 28. Junior running back Delaney Wallace (Moorestown, N.J.) was stripped by junior corner Junior Chery (Waltham, Mass./Waltham HS) and senior defensive end Quincy Giles (Indianapolis, Ind./Cathedral HS) came up with the loose ball on the Setter 34.

Coach Bill Kavanaugh's team ran off nearly all of the remaining time, until giving up the ball on downs at the four-yard line with 16 seconds to play. Pace was called for an illegal forward pass on the next play, the penalty necessitating a run off of the game's final seconds and ending the game.

Bentley's final possession featured a 24-yard run by senior Matt Montalto (West Yarmouth, Mass./Dennis-Yarmouth HS) on a fourth-and-six draw play from the Pace 30 with about two minutes left.

The Bentley offense started fast, putting up ten points before the game was six minutes old. Following a defensive stop on the opening possession of the game, Bannerman began the Falcon drive with a 15-yard gain and finished the six-play, 45-yard drive with a 14-yard run up the middle for the touchdown.

The Falcons recovered the ensuing kickoff at the Pace 12, sophomore Brandon Brown (Oxon Hill, Md./ Suitland HS) coming away with it after the ball deflected off the returner. Three plays later, Baron made it 10-0 with a 28-yarder.

Pace got on the scoreboard on the final play of the first quarter after gaining possession on the Bentley 40 following a poor punt. Junior running back Michael Scotman (White Plains. N.Y.), who led the Setters with 127 yards, finished the five-play drive with a 23-yard run.

It remained 10-7 until the final seconds of the half when a bad snap on an attempted punt went through the end zone, giving Bentley a safety and a five-point advantage.

Pace grabbed the lead midway through the third when Scotman scored from four yards out, finishing an extended 14-play, 61-yard drive that took over six minutes. The Setters went for two on the conversion but mishandled the ball and never got close to the goal line.

Bannerman was a workhorse for the Falcons, lugging the ball 36 times, the most by a Falcon in a decade. Scotman was nearly as busy for Pace, getting it 29 times.

Senior linebacker Matt McDermott (Merrimac, Mass./Central Catholic HS) led Bentley in tackles with ten. Before the two takeaways in the second half, senior defensive tackle Jeff Amell (Buxton, Maine/Bonny Eagle HS) and Brown forced fumbles for the Falcons but Pace was able to recover.

Bentley outgained Pace 261-191 despite only seven passing yards and 3-for-16 on third down conversion attempts. Sixty-one of the team's 68 plays came on the ground, the Falcons' most rushing attempts  since 2001.

With the win, the Falcons squared their conference record at 2-2 while improving to 2-3 overall. Pace dipped to 1-4 overall and remained winless in the NE-10 (0-4).

Next up for Bentley is a home matinee next Saturday against Saint Anselm College.