Bentley Takes 3-Game Win Streak to Saint Rose with Berth in NE10 Semifinals on the Line
WALTHAM, Mass. – After closing out the regular season with three straight wins to secure a number three seed, the Bentley University men's basketball team will travel to Albany, N.Y. to face The College of Saint Rose, the number two seed out of the Southwest Division, Sunday at 3 pm with a berth in the Northeast-10 Conference semifinals awaiting the winner. A free webcast will be available at www.gogoldenknights.tv.
Bentley, 15-11 overall, matched its longest winning streak of the season on Tuesday when the Falcons shot 55 percent overall and buried 14 three-pointers during a 97-82 win at Franklin Pierce. That followed victories over St. Michael's, 82-74, and Merrimack, 72-64.
Saint Rose, one of three NE10 teams with at least 20 wins and the number four team in this week's NCAA Division II East Region rankings, has won four of its last five, the only blemish during that stretch coming at home to Southwest Division champion Le Moyne. The Golden Knights are 20-8 overall with half of the losses coming in their last nine games.
A Wednesday semifinal against the survivor of Saint Anselm, Southern New Hampshire or Southern Connecticut will be awaiting the Bentley-Saint Rose winner. The latter two play a first-round game tonight with the winner advancing to face Saint Anselm in a quarterfinal Sunday.
Bentley and Saint Rose met once during the regular season with the Golden Knights earning an 81-73 road victory in early January. After trailing by 21 five minutes into the second half, the Falcons closed to within five before coming up short in the end. Julian Lipinski led five double-figure scorers for Saint Rose with 22 while junior guard Ryan Richmond (Toronto, Ont./Thomson Collegiate) had a game-high 26 for Bentley.
Richmond, whose 1,358 career points are the fourth most by a Falcon before his senior year, knocked down six three-pointers against Franklin Pierce Tuesday and finished with a season-high 39 points. He's averaged over 25 points since the beginning of January and his 23.3 mark for the season is on pace to break Ray Anderson's school record (22.8 in 1968-69).
Junior forward Chris Hudson (Hodgdon, Maine/Northampton Williston School) has stepped it up over the last ten games, averaging nearly 18 points and seven rebounds while shooting .566 from the field. He's scored at least 15 in each of those ten contests, has made at least half his shots in 14 straight and is 9 of 11 from three over the last six.
Senior forward Brandon Wheeler (Stamford, Conn./Trinity Catholic HS) closed out the regular season by averaging 11.3 points and 9.3 rebounds during the three-game streak. In the last two, he was a combined 10-of-12 from the floor.
Saint Rose has a balanced offensive attack with five players scoring between 9.5 and 14.2 points a game. Senior guard Mical-Ryan Boyd tops the list although he's been quiet of late, averaging only 11.5 points and 8.2 shot attempts over the last six Golden Knight games.
Lipiniski follows Boyd at 13.6 after totaling 33 points on 15 of 22 shooting in the last two games. He's shooting .502 for the season and is second in the conference in blocks with 41. Junior guard Shane Herrity is the Knights' top three-point threat with 53 made and a .442 accuracy from deep.
Bentley and Saint Rose have met three times previously in the conference championship tournament with the Falcons prevailing in each. Coach Jay Lawson's team recorded a 93-79 first-round win on the road in 2014, defeated the Knights 68-60 in the 2011 semis and captured the 2007 championship with a 71-61 win.
2018 Northeast-10 Men's Basketball Championships
First Round Friday, February 23
Game 1: Adelphi (No. 5 seed SW) at Stonehill (No. 4 seed NE) – 7:00 PM
Game 2: Southern New Hampshire (No. 5 seed NE) at Southern Connecticut (No. 4 seed SW) – 7:00 PM
Quarterfinals Sunday, February 25
Game 3: Game 1 winner at Le Moyne (No. 1 seed SW) – 4:00 PM
Game 4: Game 2 winner at Saint Anselm (No. 1 seed NE) – 3:00 PM
Game 5: Bentley (No. 3 seed NE) at Saint Rose (No. 2 seed SW) – 3:00 PM
Game 6: New Haven (No. 3 seed SW) at Merrimack (No. 2 seed NE) – 3:00 PM
Semifinals Wednesday, February 28th (at highest seeds remaining):
Game 7: Game 6 winner vs. Game 3 winner - 7:00 PM
Game 8: Game 5 winner vs. Game 4 winner - 7:00 PM
Championship Saturday, March 3rd (at highest seed remaining):
Game 9: Game 8 winner vs. Game 7 winner - 1:00 PM | Broadcast live on Northeast10.tv