MANCHESTER, N.H. – A fast start and key baskets down the stretch enabled Southern New Hampshire University to defeat Bentley University, 64-57, in Northeast Conference men's basketball Wednesday night at the Stan Spirou Field House.

Bentley, which trailed by as much as 13 in the first half, cut the Penmen advantage to a single point six times in the second but could never completely erase the deficit. SNHU, when up by one, was six-for-eight with two offensive rebounds.

The Falcons, down 31-24 at the half, scored the first six points when play resumed. Senior forward Ivan Misic (Toronto, Ont.) made the opening basket after intermission, senior guard Zach Laput (Beacon Falls, Conn./Notre Dame HS) hit a 16-footer and Misic sank two free throws to make it 31-30. Junior forward Derrick Grant Jr. (Plainfield, N.J.) answered for the Penmen with an offensive rebound and a three-point play the traditional way.

Laput responded with a three from the left wing, and again Grant extended the SNHU lead, this time with a driving lay-up.

Two free throws by Bentley senior guard Aaron Latham (Glastonbury, Conn./ Glastonbury HS) again made it a one-point game, 44-43 with 11:22 left. SNHU scored the next four on a lay-up by junior forward Jordan Brathwaite (Silver Spring, Md.) and a jumper in the paint from senior guard Noah Kamba (Lynn, Mass.).

After sophomore guard Cash McClure (Readfield, Maine/Maranacook HS) hit one of two free throws with 4:03 left to reduce the SNHU lead to 54-53, graduate guard Matt Becht (Vienna, Va.) countered with a turn-around jumper in the paint.

Following misses by both teams, Laput restored the one-point difference with a short pull-up with 2:50 on the clock. Twenty-two seconds later, it was back to three on a second-chance basket by Brathwaite.

A short jumper by Laput with just under two minutes to play again cut the SNHU lead to one, 58-57. This time, they would close the game with six unanswered, beginning with a top-of-the-key three-ball by Becht with 1:33 to play.

A 2-for-21 start for Bentley enabled the Penmen to get out to a 17-4 start. Bentley came alive with a 14-5 run that included five points by Laput and a trey from graduate guard Kellan Bochenek (Kettering, Ohio/Fairmont HS). The Falcons got as close as four, 28-24 on a Bochenek trey, and went into the break down seven.

Laput led Bentley with 22 points and 11 rebounds, and Latham was the other Falcon to score in doubles, finishing with 10. Bochenek scored eight and McClure had six points in addition to a career-high 12 rebounds.

Becht led SNHU with 18 points, with half his points coming via the long ball. Transfer guard Alex Rivera (Lowell, Mass.) scored 14 and Grant finished with 11.

The Penmen outshot the Falcons 35-32 percent, scored ten more points in the paint (32-22) and were a plus-seven on the boards, 52-45. That helped SNHU outscore the visitors 16-10 on second-chance points in the low-turnover game (four by each team).

Bentley dropped to 5-4 overall and 2-3 NE10 with its second straight loss. SNHU moved to 6-2 overall, including 4-1 conference.

Bentley's next game is Tuesday afternoon, a 3 pm non-conference encounter with Felician.