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Alex Furness
Alex Furness

Hot-Shooting Bentley Heads to Holy Family in Search of 5th Win in 6 Games

WALTHAM, Mass. – Following some dynamic shooting in Tuesday's 103-86 win at Assumption College, the Bentley University men's basketball team will wrap up a string of four straight away from home Saturday afternoon at Holy Family University. Game time is 2 pm with links for video and stats at www.bentleyfalcons.com.

Tuesday's win, which boosted the Falcons to 4-1 overall, saw the trio of Tyler McFarland (Rockport, Maine/Camden Hills HS), Keegan Hyland (South Portland, Maine/South Portland HS) and Alex Furness (Wells, Maine/Wells HS) all score at least 20, a feat rarely achieved in college basketball.

Combined, they totaled 77 points, 16 assists and 20 rebounds while shooting 31 of 43 overall, including 12 of 17 from downtown. McFarland, in a route-going performance, collected 29 points, seven rebounds, five assists and three blocks. Furness knocked down five triples on route to 21, and Hyland finished with 27 points, nine rebounds and six assists with 19 of his points coming in the second half.

Bentley shot .667 in each half for its highest field goal percentage in nearly five years. Coach Jay Lawson's team was on target on 16 of 29 three-pointers and amassed 26 assists on 38 baskets.

McFarland, five points away from passing Kevin Van Dam '02 (1,576) for ninth in Bentley annals, has climbed to the top of the NE-10 scoring list with a 26.4 average. He's shooting 59 percent overall, 42 percent from three and 84 at the line while playing 36.4 minutes a game.

Hyland's scoring average is up to 17.2 after the grad student has scored 23, 21 and 27 in the last three, an average of 23.7. He leads the club in rebounds (7.2) and is tied for the top spot in assists (3.8) and steals (0.8).

Furness has made 47 percent of his shots from outside the arc, knocking down 3.4 a game while averaging 14.6. The six-foot-six wing is extremely protective of the ball with only two turnovers in 154 minutes of play.

Junior guard Ferguson Duke (Dartmouth, N.S./Hun School (N.S.)) is Bentley's other double-figure scorer at 10.4. He's been another reason the Falcons have shot 55 percent thus far with his field goal percentage a lofty .696, including 9 of 15 (.600) on threes.

Bentley will be looking to turn the tables on Holy Family after the Tigers came into Waltham last season and walked away with a 68-67 victory on a late basket after Hyland gave the Falcons the slimmest of leads with five seconds left.

Holy Family will bring a 3-2 record and a two-game losing streak into its home opener. The Tigers have leaned heavily on the three, taking an incredible 40 a game. They've connected on nearly 12 a game but have an accuracy mark of only .296.

Seniors play a major role for the Tigers with nine on the roster, including the top six. Six-foot-eight Isaiah Gans has been the team's top scorer in three of five with his averages 17.6 points, 9.0 rebounds, 3.2 threes and 1.8 blocks. Marvin Crawford has contributed 14.2 points a game off the bench six-seven Derrick Stewart is averaging a double-double (12.8 ppg, 11.2 rpg).

Bentley will resume Northeast-10 action Wednesday when Saint Anselm visits for the Falcons' first home game in 18 days.