WALTHAM, Mass. – Bentley University senior guard Zach Laput (Beacon Falls, Conn./Notre Dame HS) scored a career-high 35 points and also amassed nine rebounds, five assists and five steals as the Falcons stayed unbeaten at home with a 111-64 win over Franklin Pierce University in Northeast-10 Conference men's basketball Saturday afternoon on the Dana Center's Barbara Stevens Court.

Laput, the 2023 Player of the Year in the NE10, moved from 30^th to 23^rd on the Falcons' all-time scoring list with his total currently 1,396. He passed Charlie Wootton '78, Alex Mavroukas '98, Joe Hart '90, Jasper Grassa '14, Keegan Hyland '16, Marty Bricketto '77 and Lew Finnegan '09 during the course of the contest.

Bentley, which posted its most points in a conference game since 2016, improved to 10-6 overall and 5-4 NE10 while extending its home win streak to 12. The Falcons are tied for fifth in the conference, three games back of St. Michael's College.

Laput wasn't the only Falcon to have a big game as sophomore guard Cash McClure (Readfield, Maine/Maranacook HS) finished with 22 points, eight rebounds and three assists in only 24:27.

Combined, the two scored 57 points on 19 of 27 shooting. Laput shot 11 of 15 overall, buried three of five from deep and was perfect on 10 free throw attempts. McClure's 8-of-12 included two of three from three.

A 29-8 run gave Bentley its first 20-point advantage of the afternoon, 36-15 with about nine minutes left in the opening half. At that juncture, Laput already had 11 and the Falcons had made 14 of 21 shots.

The Falcons closed out the first half with a 24-6 burst over the final seven minutes and went into the break with a commanding 65-29 lead. Laput's first-half total, 26, matched the school record set by Scott Conrad against Eastern Nazarene in 1970 and equaled by Jason Westrol against Philadelphia in the 2010 NCAA regional tournament.

In the second half, Bentley reached 70 points with 18:27 left, 80 with 14:08 on the clock, 90 with 10:53 remaining and 100 with 5:17 to play. The last milestone was achieved on a three-pointer by freshman forward Cooper Farrall (Valparaiso, Ind./Culver Academies), who finished with a career-best seven points in 5:36. All the starters exited the game with just under nine minutes left in the game.

Bentley's double-figure scorers also included graduate wing Kellan Bochenek (Kettering, Ohio/Fairmont HS) and senior guard Aaron Latham (Glastonbury, Conn./Glastonbury HS), with 14 and 11 points, respectively. Bochenek also collected nine rebounds. Latham was a team-best +44, one better than Laput.

Bentley shot 66 percent in the first half and finished at .562, including 12 of 29 from downtown. The Falcons outrebounded the Ravens by 28, 50-22, and had the same advantage in both points off turnovers and second chance points, 21-6.

Franklin Pierce (3-12, 1-8 NE10) was led by sophomore guard RJ Delahaye (Newburgh, N.Y.) with 15 points.

Bentley is on the road twice this coming week, at Southern Connecticut Tuesday and at Pace Saturday. Both are currently 11-4 overall.