RINDGE, N.H. – Franklin Pierce University six-foot-seven sophomore Sean Trumper (Ashford, United Kingdom) buried a go-ahead left-wing three with 45.1 seconds left and the Ravens went on to knock the Bentley University men's basketball team out of first place in the Northeast-10 Conference, 77-74, Saturday afternoon in the FPU Field House.

Franklin Pierce, down as much as 11 in the second half and trailing by five with 2:30 to play, closed with an 8-0 run to gain the victory. The Ravens improved to 16-10, including 11-8 in conference play, while Bentley, the 22^nd-ranked team in Division II, dropped to 19-5 overall and 14-5 NE10.

The loss spoiled a career scoring best of 30 points for Bentley junior guard Zach Laput (Beacon Falls, Conn./Notre Dame HS). He made 13 of 21 shots with a trio of three-balls.

Bentley, after falling behind by three with 7:43 remaining, rebounded with a 10-2 run to go up 74-69 with 2:50 left. Laput scored the middle six and graduate guard Brian Wright-Kinsey (Brooklyn, N.Y./Brooks School) had the other four.

Franklin Pierce pulled within two when sophomore guard Mohamed Traore (Hyde Park, Mass.) hit a left wing trey with 2:20 on the clock. The Ravens turned the ball over on their next two possessions, but Bentley was unable to take advantage, keeping the score stationary at 77-74 until less than 50 seconds remaining.

Following Trumper's triple, Bentley junior guard Aaron Latham (Glastonbury, Conn./Glastonbury HS) misfired on a three and the rebound went to the Ravens. Junior forward Sean Bresnan (Yonkers, N.Y.) missed the front end of a one-an-one and Wright-Kinsey got the ball back for the Falcons.

After a Bentley timeout with 4.1 on the clock, Latham inbounded to Laput, but his immediate shot from eight feet was off the mark and the rebound went to Franklin Pierce. Trumper made two free throws with a second left, securing the outcome for the home team.

After trailing 15-4 early, Bentley turned the game around with a 28-9 surge over a span of eight-and-a-half minutes giving the Falcons an eight-point lead. The difference stood at four at the break after Franklin Pierce sophomore guard Jamel Snow-Guzman (Lynn, Mass.) scored five of his 15 first-half points in the final minute before the break.

Bentley pushed the lead back to 11 in the first three-plus minutes of the second, only to see the Ravens counter with a 13-1 run of their own a few minutes later.

Other than Laput, who scored 20 of his 30 in the second half, the only other Falcon to score in doubles was graduate guard Mason Webb (Oklahoma City, Okla./Bishop McGuinness HS), with 18, all  but two coming in the first half.

Snow-Guzman and Traore each finished with 17 for the Ravens, with each shooting six of ten. Traore had five three-balls and Snow-Guzman three.

Team stats were very close with FPU having a slight edge in most categories, including field goal percentage (48-47 percent), rebounds (35-33), free throws made (8-7), three-pointers (11-9) and turnovers (10-11). Free throw accuracy was a problem for Bentley as the Falcons missed five of 12.

Bentley, a game back of Southern New Hampshire now, will close out the regular season Tuesday at home against American International.