SYRACUSE, N.Y. – A lay-up by junior guard Derrek Tartt (Albany, N.Y.) that hung on the rim before falling in capped a game-ending 6-0 run and lifted Le Moyne College to a 66-64 win over Bentley University in a Northeast-10 Conference men's basketball battle Wednesday night at the Ted Grant Court.

Bentley, which had a four-point lead with 100 seconds left in the game, would have moved into a tie for first in the conference with a win but instead remained a game out, falling to 13-5 overall and 9-5 NE-10. Le Moyne lifted its record to 6-8 in the conference and 10-8 overall.

Spoiled with the loss was a career-best 20 points off the bench by Bentley freshman forward Andrew Shaw (Saco, Maine/Thornton Academy), who dropped six three-balls through the basket.

Three players had double-doubles for Le Moyne, with six-foot-ten sophomore James Janson (Scotia, N.Y.) having a career game. He was 12 of 19 from the floor en route to a career-best 26 points and also had 11 rebounds, seven of those at the offensive end.  Sophomore guard Nate Champion (Logansport, Ind.), who played a key role in the Dolphins' late comeback, had 14 points and 10 assists, and freshman forward Ryan Romich (Groton, Mass.) provided 10 points and a like number of rebounds off the bench.

Bentley, after giving up a 10-point second-half lead, found itself on the short end of a 58-54 score after a Tartt basket with 5:45 left.  Shaw nailed his sixth triple of the night and sophomore guard Jasper Grassa (Lynn, Mass./Lynn Classical HS) followed with a driving lay-up that turned into a three-point play and a 60-58 Falcon advantage with 4:13 left.

A Dolphin basket evened the game at 60 apiece and it stayed that way until Leclerc was fouled while burying a long three with 1:47 left. He converted the free throw for a four-point play and 64-60 lead with 1:47 left.

Champion countered with a lay-up and then came up with a steal on the Falcons' next possession that led to four points for the Dolphins. With Champion having a clear path to the basket for what would be the tying basket, the Falcon defender grabbed his shirt from behind and an intentional foul was whistled. 

Champion made both free throws to even things at 64-all, and Le Moyne retained possession. After the Dolphins used most of the shot clock, Tartt took it inside for what proved to be the game-winner. Leclerc attempted two potential three-pointers in the final 22 seconds, with a defensive rebound and missed free throw by Tartt sandwiched in between, but both were off the mark.

It made sense that Bentley would attempt a three-ball on their final possessions since that is where most of the offense came from all night. Two-thirds of the Falcons' shots were three-pointers shot over the Dolphin zone, and 14 of the 40 were on the mark.  In contrast, Bentley attempted only 20 two-point shots, 14 of those coming before intermission.

Meanwhile, Le Moyne spent most of the night pounding the ball inside to Janson, who took about a third of his team's shots, all right in close to the basket. He had 13 of his team's first 21 points, helping the Dolphins take an early 21-14 lead over the cold-shooting Falcons (5 of 19 overall, 2 of 12 from three in the first 11 minutes).

During the final four minutes of the first half and the first three of the second, Bentley used the long ball for a 22-7 run that turned a five-point deficit into a 43-33 lead. Shaw and Grassa each connected from outside the arc three times during that surge.

After falling behind by 10, Le Moyne went to Jansen and Champion. Combining for 10 points, they fueled a 13-3 run that evened the game at 46. A Leclerc three and a put-back from junior forward Dan O'Keefe (Lexington, Mass./Lexington HS) restored the lead to the Falcons, but Le Moyne not only matched Bentley's five, but doubled it  to take a 56-51 lead with 6:17 left.

Shaw, who also had four rebounds, used 10 attempts to record the six three-pointers. Grassa and Leclerc, a combined 8 of 26 from the field, were Bentley's other double-figure scorers, finishing with 14 and 10, respectively.

Le Moyne, which had a 44-18 bulge in points in the paint, outshot the Falcons 47-37 percent and also won the rebounding battle 37-33. Free throws (7-6 Le Moyne) and turnovers (Bentley had one more, 11-10) were essentially the same.

Bentley will be at home for its next three, beginning Saturday at 3:30 pm against Southern Connecticut State.