COLCHESTER, Vt. – A late and lengthy scoring drought of more than six minutes led to 13 unanswered points by St. Michael's College and resulted in the Bentley University men's basketball team dropping a 69-66 decision to the Purple Knights in Northeast-10 Conference action Saturday afternoon at the Ross Sports Center.

Bentley, which would have moved into a tie for third in the NE-10's Northeast Division with a win, instead dropped to 16-8 overall and 10-8 conference after having its win streak halted at two. St. Michael's, which won for the sixth time in seven games, improved to 17-6 overall and 12-6 NE-10.

The late 13-0 run by St. Michael's, which turned a 61-56 Bentley lead into a 69-61 Purple Knight bulge, countered a similar lengthy run by Bentley at the end of the first half. The Falcons kept St. Michael's off the scoreboard over the final 5:25 of the first, scored 11 straight to take a 33-25 halftime lead. Bentley also scored the first five after play resumed, extending the run to 16-0 and the lead to 38-25.

Junior guard Keegan Hyland (South Portland, Maine/South Portland HS), Bentley's top scorer with 15 points, scored six of the 11 during the first-half closing run.

St. Michael's used the three-ball to climb back into the game with four different players connecting from downtown during a 15-3 spurt that cut the Bentley lead to one, 43-42, with 13:37 left.

About five-and-a-half minutes later, a fast-break lay-up from junior Dom Ditlefsen (Portland, Ore.) capped a 10-2 St. Michael's run and gave the home team their first lead of the second half at 56-55.

A pair of three-pointers, from the right wing by Hyland and from the left corner by junior forward Shaq Phelps (Linden, N.J./Linden HS), put Bentley back in charge, 61-56 with 6:27 to play. However, those proved to be the Falcons' final points until the game's final ten seconds.

Bentley came up empty on its next ten possessions (0-for-8, 2 turnovers) and St. Michael's took advantage. A tip-in by freshman forward Matt Bonds (Accokeek, Md.) accounted for the game's ninth and final lead change, making it 62-61 with 2:54 to play. Junior guard Corey Crawford II (Dover, Del.) scored on a drive to the basket, making it a two-possession game with 32.8 seconds left, and four free throws, the last two by Crawford, stretched the lead to eight with 15.7 seconds.

Senior guard Jasper Grassa (Lynn, Mass./Lynn Classical HS) finally ended the Bentley drought with a driving lay-up with 9.9 seconds left. He quickly came up with a steal and was fouled while attempting a three with 2.1 seconds left. Grassa drained them all, giving the Falcons a glimmer of hope. Phelps came up with the inbound pass near midcourt, but his desperation heave was off the mark as the buzzer sounded.

Hyland, who also had four rebounds and two steals, was followed on the Bentley scoring list by Grassa, with 13, and sophomore forward Tyler McFarland (Rockport, Maine/Camden Hills HS), with a dozen. Grassa buried two three-pointers, moving into a tie for second, with Tim Forbes '06, in program history with 270.

Phelps knocked down three triples for nine points and junior forward Andrew Shaw (Saco, Maine/Thornton Academy) followed with eight points.

Six-foot-seven junior James Cambronne (De Bary, Fla.) powered St. Michael's with 18 points, eight rebounds and three blocks, and Crawford's line included 11 points, five rebounds and five assists.

More than half the game's points came from outside the arc with Bentley burying 12, including four in the first half by McFarland, and St. Michael's 11, with Cambronne matching McFarland's total.

St. Michael's outshot the Falcons 43-39 percent and made twice as many free throws, 8-4. Rebounds and turnovers were dead-even with both teams collecting 37 errant shots and losing the ball 11 times.

Bentley will also be on the road Wednesday for a 7:30 pm game at Southern New Hampshire.