WALTHAM, Mass. – Senior forward Greg Langston (Stratford, Conn.) poured in 26 points and also contributed five rebounds and five assists as Southern Connecticut State won for the eighth time in its last nine games, 88-76 over Bentley University in Northeast-10 Conference men's basketball Saturday afternoon at the Dana Center.

Bentley, which had its four-game winning streak halted, came into the contest with a .495 field goal percentage but was held to just.324 by the Owls, including only .281 in the second half when the Falcons were outscored 45-29.

The loss dropped Bentley to 11-4 overall and 5-4 in the NE-10 (tied for 4th in the Northeast Division) while Southern remained at the top of the Southwest Division standings, improving to 12-2 overall and 6-2 conference.

It was a back-and-forth first 11 minutes with the two teams even at 25 through that point, with eight lead changes and the two clubs never separated by more than three points.  Bentley netted the next six, including four from senior guard Jasper Grassa (Lynn/Lynn Classical HS), to grab a lead it would keep the rest of the half.

Bentley's first-half lead peaked at 10, 43-33 with 3:43, following an 8-0 run that included a three-point play from sophomore forward Shaq Phelps (Linden, N.J./Linden HS) and a Grassa three-ball. Southern battled back and was within four at the break, 47-43, after a Langston buzzer-beater completed the first-half scoring.

With the score tied at 57 following a three by sophomore forward Tyler McFarland (Rockport, Maine/Camden Hills HS) with 13:35 to play, Southern embarked on a 12-2 run to take a 69-59 lead with nine minutes remaining.

Bentley got back within four a couple times, but the Owls came close to locking up the victory with a late 9-3 spurt making it 84-74 with 1:16 to play. That run was capped by the third three-ball of the second half by junior guard Luke Houston (Pearl River, N.Y.). Four free throws by Southern in the final 50 seconds closed out the Falcons' hopes of a comeback.

McFarland and Grassa led the Falcons with 23 and 19 points, respectively. McFarland was a force early (18 points in the first 12 minutes) but struggled through a 5-of-16 shooting game, despite being 3-of-5 from three. He was perfect on 10 free throw tosses and also had eight rebounds.

Grassa also connected three times from outside the arc and his stat line included seven rebounds and four steals.

Phelps was the only other Falcon to score more than six as he provided 11 points and six rebounds in 18 minutes off the bench.

Langston was joined in doubles by three teammates, including the 5-foot-11 Houston who finished with 15 points and a game-high 10 rebounds.

Southern shot 45 percent overall, buried 10 three-pointers and outrebounded the Falcons 55-42, including 29-16 in the second half.

Bentley will look to get back on track Wednesday when it hosts Adelphi University at 7:30 pm.