Keegan Hyland
Keegan Hyland

Maine Trio Combine for 62 as Bentley Cools Off Le Moyne, 73-67

WALTHAM, Mass. – The Maine triumvirate of senior guard Keegan Hyland (South Portland, Maine/South Portland HS), senior forward Andrew Shaw (Saco, Maine/Thornton Academy) and junior forward Tyler McFarland (Rockport, Maine/Camden Hills HS) combined for 62 points, 19 rebounds and nine assists as Bentley University topped Le Moyne College, 73-67, in Northeast-10 Conference men's basketball Sunday afternoon at the Dana Center.

Hyland finished with 25 points, his third straight game with at least that many, and also had six rebounds, five assists and two steals. Shaw came off the bench to bury five three-pointers during a 21-point, seven-rebound, two-assist effort, and McFarland followed with 16 points and six rebounds.

Bentley evened its record at 5-5 overall (2-4 NE-10) with its second straight win over a team that entered the game with just one loss. Le Moyne, owner of the East Region's best record at the start of the day, dropped to 8-2 overall with its first NE-10 loss in five conference games.

This one turned around during the final seven-and-a-half minutes of the first half with Bentley scoring 12 unanswered, all from deep, to take a 33-25 lead into the break. Connecting from downtown during that span were Shaw, sophomore guard Chris Murray (Littleton/Littleton HS) and Hyland twice. Meanwhile, the Dolphins came up empty on 11 straight possessions (0-for-6, 5 turnovers).

Triples from Hyland and Shaw, sandwiched around one of many second-half lay-ups by Le Moyne junior guard Qwadere Lovell (Mount Vernon, N.Y.), pushed the Bentley lead to 13, 53-40, with nine minutes remaining.

The Falcons were still up 11 after a McFarland three-ball with 6:13 left, but eight straight Le Moyne points, the last six by Lovell, brought the visitors within three, 60-57, with 4:19 to play.

A falling-down jumper in the paint by Hyland and a foul-line extended jumper from junior guard Alex Furness (Wells, Maine/Wells HS) temporarily righted things for Bentley, but Le Moyne followed with six unanswered to make it a two-point game with 1:26 showing on the clock.

Shaw drained a three from the left side with 54.5 seconds left, only to have that matched by Le Moyne senior guard Naté Gause (Poughkeepsie, N.Y.) at the other end. 

Shaw and Lovell exchanged lay-ups, keeping it a two-point game, and Bentley locked up the final outcome by hitting four of four free throws in the final 13 seconds. Furness sank a pair and Hyland did the same after coming up with a steal.

Hyland, who has averaged 26.7 points over his last three games, was 9 of 20 from the field with four three-pointers against the Dolphin zone. Shaw made 8 of 14 overall and McFarland was 7 of 13.

Lovell powered Le Moyne with 22 points (including 19 in the second half) and nine assists, and Gause, the NE-10's top scorer, sank four triples during a 20-point afternoon.

Le Moyne shot better overall, 51-46 percent, with 38 of Bentley's 61 shots coming from outside the arc. The Falcons had a 12-6 advantage in threes and made 16 of 23 two-pointers. Rebounds (31-30 Le Moyne) and turnovers (8 Bentley, 9 Le Moyne) were basically even.

Bentley will be back in action Friday night with a 7:30 game at Caldwell University.