WALTHAM, Mass. – Senior quarterback Danny Guadagnoli (Framingham/Framingham HS) rushed for a go-ahead touchdown with 2:42 left, junior safety Nick McCarthy (Winthrop/Winthrop HS) made a game-clinching interception with 1:26 to play and sophomore Michael Baron (Medfield/ Roxbury Latin HS) tied a school record with four field goals as Bentley University edged by Saint Anselm College, 32-27, in Northeast-10 Conference football Saturday afternoon at Bentley.

Guadagnoli's decisive touchdown, a 13-yard run up the middle, capped a six-play, 66-yard drive that answered a Saint Anselm burst that produced 13 points in 52 seconds and turned a 12-point Falcon lead into a one-point deficit.

Baron's fourth field goal, which matched the Bentley standard set by Tyler McNamara at Merrimack in 2009, was an 18-yarder after a 14-play, nearly seven-minute drive stalled at the one. It capped a run of 20 unanswered points and put the Falcons up 26-14 with 7:51 to play.

Saint Anselm, held scoreless since the opening minute of the second quarter, bounced right back. A 29-yard kickoff return by freshman Shane Jackson (Monticello, N.Y.) brought the ball out to the 44, and it look the Hawks only a minute and six plays to move into the end zone. Two plays after a Bentley personal foul gave the visitors a first-and-goal at the ten, senior Keith Charles (Laurel, Md.) scored on a ten-yard run. The point-after kick made it a five-point spread, 26-21, with 6:44 remaining.

On the second-play from scrimmage following the kickoff, Saint Anselm junior defensive lineman Josh Cheever (Lynn) forced a fumble, senior linebacker Matt Gordon (Methuen) scooped it up and took it 22 yards into the end zone for a score and a Hawk lead. They went for two points on the conversion, but the attempt was intercepted by Bentley senior AC Carter (Marlborough/Marlborough HS), keeping the difference at one.

Bentley junior Jet Kollie (Lowell/Lowell HS) returned the ensuing kickoff to the Bentley 34, and Guadagnoli went to work. He completed four of four passes for 52 yards, setting up a first-and-ten from the Hawk 13. After faking a handoff, he took it up the middle into the end zone, the touchdown his first of the season.

Guadagnoli rushed for a career-high 80 yards on 13 carries and completed 24 of 40 passes for 229 yards and one score, a 23-yarder to junior Chris Malonis (Dracut/Dracut HS) that brought the Falcons to within one, 14-13, with 8:45 left until intermission.

After the go-ahead TD by the Falcon QB, Saint Anselm drove to midfield before having its hopes of an upset dashed when McCarthy came down with his second interception of 2013, capping a strong effort in which he had a team-best ten tackles, including one for a loss, and two  pass break-ups.

Bentley, on the short end of a 7-6 score after the opening period, fell behind 14-6 29 seconds into the second when junior Justin Bernard (Cambridge) caught a 19-yard TD pass from sophomore Andrew Murphy (Franklin).

After falling behind by eight, Bentley had two long scoring drives before the first-half ended with the Falcons on top by two, 16-14. Malonis' first career TD reception finished a ten-play, 60-yard drive that included a fourth-down conversion near midfield and an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on Saint Anselm after Bentley came up short on third down.

Following a defensive stop, Bentley moved 71 yards in 14 plays before settling for Baron's longest field goal of the day, a go-ahead 31-yarder with 28 seconds on the first-half clock. His first two field goals, 24 and 27 yards, both came in the opening quarter.

Bentley made it a 23-14 game 83 seconds into the third quarter when an errant punt snap by Saint Anselm was recovered by freshman linebacker Bryan Hardy (Sandwich/Barnstable HS) and returned eight yards for a touchdown.

Bentley had a major advantage statistically, but was plagued by four turnovers, including two fumbles on punt returns, both of which led to Hawk touchdowns. The Falcons outgained the visitors 400-213, finished with 27 first downs while allowing only 11, and controlled the ball for more than 40 minutes.

Kollie amassed a career-best 174 all-purpose running yards, including 65 rushing yards on 18 carries. He also caught five balls for 48 yards and had two kickoff returns for 61.

For Saint Anselm (0-5, 0-4 NE-10), Murphy was 23 of 38 for 197 yards and Charles had 175 all-purpose yards, including 104 on four kickoff returns.

Bentley improved to 3-2 overall while squaring its conference record at 2-2. The Falcons are on the road next week, traveling to Pleasantville, N.Y. for a Saturday matinee at Pace University.