WALTHAM, Mass. – Senior guard Alex Furness (Wells, Maine/Wells HS) knocked down his fifth three-pointer of the night, from the right side with 2.5 seconds left, to give Bentley University a 77-75 win over Merrimack College in Northeast-10 Conference men's basketball action Tuesday evening at Hammel Court. It was his second career game-winner against the Warriors, the first coming at home as a sophomore.

The 14th lead change of the second half, and 16th of the game, lifted the Falcons to 3-0 overall and 1-0 in the Northeast-10. The loss was Merrimack's first after a pair of wins to open the season.

Grad student Keegan Hyland (South Portland, Maine/South Portland HS) led Bentley with a 23-point, 13-rebound, five-assist double-double. Senior forward Tyler McFarland (Rockport, Maine/ Camden Hills HS) followed with 16, including the 1,500th of his career, and Furness finished with 15. McFarland, the 13th player in program history to achieve that milestone, also had seven rebounds and two blocks.

Before Furness' winning shot, free throws played a key role in the final 30 seconds. With the Falcons down 75-73 after a 5-0 Merrimack run, Hyland was fouled driving to the basket with 25.2 seconds left. He made the first but missed the second with Merrimack's Anthony Barry (Uxbridge) grabbing the rebound.

Warrior senior guard Troy Hammel (Valencia, Calif.), a 91 percent shooter from the line a year ago, was fouled and sent to the line for a one-and-one with 20.9 seconds left and a chance to put his team up three. However, he missed the front end with Falcon junior guard Ferguson Duke (Dartmouth, N.S./Hun School)) claiming the errant shot.

The ball was knocked out of bounds in the Falcon frontcourt, Bentley retaining possession with 8.5 seconds left. Junior guard Matt Barr (Stratham, N.H./Exeter HS) inbounded the ball to Hyland, who found an open Furness on the right side for the game-winner. Merrimack senior guard Gelvis Solano (New York, N.Y.), the game's top scorer with 28 points, launched a half-court shot at the buzzer but it was off the mark.

Bentley, which offset a rash of first-half turnovers with superior shooting, maintained the lead for the first 17 minutes until Barry put Merrimack up 35-34. The Falcons regained the lead by the break, 38-36, on a McFarland jumper and a put-back by freshman guard Ryan Richmond (Toronto, Ont./ Thompson Collegiate).

The Falcons led 57-53 with 9:37 left after running off six unanswered, but Merrimack countered, scoring 12 unanswered to open a 65-57 advantage with 6:35 left.

Bentley responded with a Hyland-powered 14-3 surge, one that put the Falcons back in front, 71-68 with two minutes left. Ten of his points came during that run, including a three-ball that produced a 69-68 lead with 2:45 left.

 Bentley outshot the Warriors 47-43 percent, made two more threes and two more at the line, and had the rebounding edge, 42-37. The Falcons finished with 17 turnovers, six more than Merrimack, but gave the ball up only six times after intermission.

After winning the first of four straight on the road, Bentley will return to action Saturday at Bridgeport (2 pm).