PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- Bentley University seniors Tom Dowling (Rockville Centre, N.Y./South Side HS) and Brian Tracey (Bow Mar, Colo./Heritage HS) combined for 50 points, but Providence College was able to hold off the Falcons, 83-76, in exhibition men's basketball Saturday night at the Dunkin' Donuts Center.

The Friars, out of the Big East, were powered by six-foot-five forward Marshon Brooks (Stone Mountain, Ga.), who poured in 27 points and and also amassed 15 rebounds and three blocks.

Bentley, down seven at the break, made it a one-possession game several times in the second half, the final time coming when senior forward Joe Fremeau (Manchester, N.H./Central HS) scored from inside with 1:19 on the clock.

Four free throws by sophomore guard Vincent Council (Brooklyn, N.Y.), separated by a Brooks rejection, pushed the Providence lead back to seven, 81-74, with 34.3 seconds left. A reverse lay-up by Dowling with 23.3 remaining made it a five-point game, and after the Friars made one of two at the line, a three-ball from Dowling was in-and-out of the basket with about 15 seconds left, essentially sealing the outcome.

Bentley, a consensus preseason top 10 team in Division II and an Elite Eight participant three of the last four years, used a 13-3 spurt, capped by a long three from Dowling, to open a 23-15 lead ten-and-a-half minutes into the contest. Led by Brooks, the Friars came storming back, using a 20-4 explosion to go up 11, 41-30, with a little more than three minutes left in the opening stanza.  Threes from Tracey and junior transfer Sam Leclerc (Fayette, Maine/Winthrop HS) helped the Falcons cut the halftime deficit to seven.

It was down to two about 90 seconds into the second half after an alley-oop slam by Tracey, from guard Mike Quinn (Oakdale, Conn./Montville HS), and a top-of-the-key triple by Tracey. The Falcons had several chances to tie, or take the lead with a three, but could never quite catch their Division I opponent in the second half.

Providence countered with a 14-4 run to extend its advantage to a dozen, but the Falcons had one more comeback left.  Fremeau's basket capped a 11-3 spurt, a stretch of three-plus minutes in which Bentley yielded only one three-pointer.

Dowling led the Falcons with 27 points, six rebounds and two blocks. Tracey followed with 23 points, five boards and three helpers. Both had it going from three with Dowling four of seven and Tracey three of five. Leclerc nailed three triples off the bench and finished with nine points.

Both teams shot about 42 percent, but the bigger Friars controlled the boards (47-32) and scored 16 second-chance points. Providence also had the edge at the line, with 26 free throw attempts to the Falcons' 12.

Bentley will officially open its 2010-11 season next weekend when it hosts its own Tip-Off Classic Friday and Saturday.

At Providence, R.I. - Dunkin' Donuts Center

PROVIDENCE COLLEGE 83, BENTLEY 76

BENTLEY -- Tom Dowling 8-16 7-10 27; Brian Tracey 10-17 0-0 23; Sam Leclerc 3-7 0-0 9; Mike Quinn 2-7 0-0 5; Greg Jacques 1-4 1-2 4; Joe Fremeau 2-4 0-0 4; Mike Topercer 1-6 0-0 2; Kevin Kettl 1-2 0-0 2; Dan O'Keefe 0-3 0-0 0. Totals 28-66 8-12 76.

PROVIDENCE -- Marshon Brooks 10-20 4-7 27; Vincent Council 4-12 7-7 17; Duke Mondy 3-9 2-3 9; Dre Evans 2-2 0-0 6; Gerard Coleman 2-7 1-2 6; Kadeem Batts 2-4 1-1 5; Bryce Cotton 2-2 0-0 4; Bilal Dixon 2-6 0-0 4; Ron Giplaye 1-1 1-2 3; Ray Hall 0-0 2-4 2; Lee Goldsbrough 0-3 0-0 0; Brice Kofane 0-1 0-0 0.  Totals 28-67 18-26 83.

Halftime: P 45-38; 3-point goals--B 12-32 (Dowling 4-7; Tracey 3-5; Leclerc 3-6; Quinn 1-6; Jacques 1-3; O'Keefe 0-1; Kettl 0-1; Topercer 0-3), P 9-23 (Brooks 3-7; Council 2-3; Evans 2-2; Coleman 1-3; Mondy 1-5; Goldsbrough 0-3). Fouled out-- Fremeau. Rebounds--B 32 (Dowling 6), P 47 (Brooks 15). Assists--B 14 (Tracey, Quinn, Topercer 3), P 14 (Council 4). Total fouls--B 24, P 16. Technical fouls--None. A-4151