WALTHAM, Mass. -- Junior guard Thomas Jackson III (Middletown, Conn.), a perfect 10-of-10 from the floor, scored 14 of his game-high 23 points in the final 5:30 and also had a key block down the stretch as St. Michael's College edged Bentley University, 74-71, in Northeast-10 Conference men's basketball Saturday afternoon at the Dana Center.

The loss was the fourth straight for the Falcons, with three of those coming in one-possession games. Bentley dropped to 16-8 overall and 8-7 NE10 while St. Michael's improved to 7-14 overall, including 4-10 conference.

After a pair of Jackson III lay-ups knotted the score at 64 apiece, Bentley tallied five straight to take its biggest lead of the game, 69-64 with four minutes left. Junior guard Jordan Mello-Klein (Sharon/ Thayer Academy) sank a three from the left corner and sophomore guard Mason Webb (Oklahoma City, Okla./Bishop McGuinness HS) scored on a driving lay-up following a block from sophomore guard Brian Wright-Kinsey (Brooklyn, N.Y./Brooks School).

It was still a five-point lead with two minutes to play when Jackson III went on a 7-0 run to produce the game's ninth and final lead change. He drained a three from the right wing with 1:44 left and finished driving lay-ups with 1:04 and 30.6 seconds left.

Following Jackson III's block and a missed free throw with 4.3 seconds left, junior forward Pete Blust (Hinsdale, Ill./Hinsdale Central HS) collected the rebound. Bentley took a timeout with 2.3 seconds to set up a final play. Blust threw a long inbound pass from the baseline, but it was ruled to have been deflected out of bounds off a Falcon. Jackson was fouled with three-tenths of a second remaining and closed out the scoring by making one of two at the line.

St. Michael's jumped out to an early lead, 16-7, with senior guard Jordan Guzman (Staten Island, N.Y.) leading the visitors with nine of the 16. He finished with 18 points.

The Purple Knights shot extremely well during the first half (18 of 28 for 64 percent) and was in front by seven at the break, 44-37.

Bentley scored the first nine points of the second to take its first lead since 2-0. Webb had two baskets and Wright-Kinsey connected on a three from the right corner.

There would be six more lead changes before Jackson III took over down the stretch.

Senior forward Chris Hudson (Hodgdon, Maine/Williston Northampton School) led Bentley with 20 points, five rebounds, four assists and three steals. Mello-Klein sank four of six three-pointers and finished with 16 points, and Webb scored 13.

St. Michael's shot 56 percent overall, offsetting the Falcons 10-7 advantage in three-pointers and 11-5 in free throws.

• After a midweek bye, Bentley will take on Southern New Hampshire on the road next Saturday.