WALTHAM, Mass. – Northeast-10 Conference scoring leader Zach Laput (Beacon Falls, Conn./Notre Dame HS) and reigning conference Player of the Week Matt Leritz (St. Louis, Mo./St. Louis University HS) combined for 41 points on 19 of 29 shooting as Bentley University held off Assumption University, 77-73, in men's college basketball action Wednesday night at the Dana Center.

Laput finished with 21 points on 9-of-14 shooting and Leritz stuffed the stat sheet with 20 points, eight rebounds, six assists, five steals and four blocks. He also was successful on 10 of his 15 field goal attempts, almost all right around the basket.

The victory was Bentley's 11^th in a row this season and extended the program's home winning streak to 21 games, fifth longest nationally in Division II. The Falcons improved to 13-1 overall and 8-1 NE10, good for a half-game lead over Saint Anselm in the battle for first place.

Coach Jay Lawson's team had the lead for virtually all of the final 37 minutes (there was a short-lived tie at 19-19) but was challenged down the stretch by a Greyhound team that shot 61 percent and scored 30 points in the paint in the second half. It was a two-possession game for most of the last ten minutes and the Hounds got as close as two, 71-69, when senior guard Isiah Gaiter (Meriden, Conn.) scored on a drive with 2:08 to play.

 Bentley answered with a driving lay-up by graduate guard Brian Wright-Kinsey (Brooklyn, N.Y./Brooks School) about 20 seconds later, pushing the difference back to four. After each team missed a shot and Leritz came up with his fifth takeaway of the night, an inside basket by graduate guard Mason Webb (Oklahoma City, Okla./Bishop McGuinness HS) made it 75-69 with 16.8 seconds to play. Two Gaiter free throws with 9.8 on the clock were answered by Webb 1.7 seconds later and the outcome was essentially decided.

Bentley led by 11 at the half, 41-30, after the Falcons closed with a 15-6 spurt over the final 7:20. Ten of those were scored by Leritz.

Before the Assumption comeback, the Falcon lead peaked at 12, 55-43, on a lay-up by junior guard Aaron Latham (Glastonbury, Conn./Glastonbury HS) with 14:45 left in the second half and matched less than a minute later on a fallaway jumper by Laput.

Webb and Wright-Kinsey joined Laput and Leritz in double figures in points. Webb finished with 15 points, four rebounds, two assists and two steals, and Wright-Kinsey pitched in with 11 points, four assists, six boards, two steals and a block.

Gaiter led all scorers with 28 points on 12 of 18 shooting. Twenty of those came in the second half when he never came out of the game.

Bentley shot 57 percent for the game, including about 65 percent inside the arc, and came up with nine steals and five blocks. Assumption finished at .533 overall and both teams made only five three-pointers. There were a total of 94 points in the paint, including 50 by the Falcons.

The Falcons will be back at it Saturday when they are in Vermont to take on St. Michael's College.