McFarland's 2,000th point video

MANCHESTER, N.H. – Four minutes and eight seconds into the second half Saturday afternoon, senior forward Tyler McFarland (Rockport, Maine/Camden Hills  HS) dropped in a three from the top of the key to become the third 2,000-point scorer in Bentley University men's basketball history, joining Bill Holden '90 and Jason Westrol '10.

A little more than ten minutes later, with 5:36 remaining, senior guard, and McFarland's former Cushing Academy classmate, Alex Furness (Wells, Maine/Wells HS) hit two foul shots with the first point number 1,000 of his Falcon career.  He became the 52nd Bentley player to reach that plateau.

Despite their milestone baskets, Bentley was shot down by Saint Anselm College, 102-83, in Northeast-10 Conference action at Stoutenburgh Gym and dropped into a tie for first in the NE-10's Northeast Division with one game to play.

Both teams will wrap up the regular season Tuesday night with Bentley (18-7, 15-5 NE-10) at home against Merrimack College and Saint Anselm (20-5, 15-5 NE-10), the number one team in the NCAA Division II East Region, across town at intercity rival Southern New Hampshire.

The Hawks shot 58 percent overall and made 11 of 23 from three while maintaining a double-digit lead for the final 31:40 of the contest. Saint Anselm vaulted out to an 11-3 lead and was on top by 20, 37-17, following an inside basket from junior Chris Braley (Newport, Maine) with 6:04 on the first-half clock.

After a first half in which Bentley shot just 29.7 percent and missed 9 of 12 three-pointers, the score stood at 46-27. Senior forward Mike McCahey (Clarkstown, N.Y.) had a big first half for the Hawks, scoring 17 of his 19 points.

Bentley closed to within 13 twice in the second half, the second time at 73-60 with 7:31 to play after graduate student Keegan Hyland (South Portland, Maine/South Portland HS) sank one of two at the line.

However, Saint Anselm answered with a 10-2 spurt, making it a commanding 83-62 game with 5:43 remaining, and that would essentially do it.

McFarland, who finished the game with 2,007 points, totaled 19 against the Hawks on 6-of-16 shooting, He buried three of his four attempts from deep and also had three rebounds and three assists.

Furness, now with 1,0001 points, scored 17 on 6-of-12 shooting. He nailed a pair of threes and also had two assists.

Hyland led the Falcons with 20 points, including 16 in the second half. He collected eight rebounds, second on the team behind the nine pulled in by sophomore forward Brandon Wheeler (Stamford, Conn./Trinity Catholic HS). Wheeler also had six points and a pair of steals.

All five starters scored in doubles for Saint Anselm with junior forward Harrison Taggart (Wallingford, Vt.) leading the way with 21 points and 11 rebounds. He had a great shooting game, finishing eight of nine with five three-pointers. McCahey followed with 19 and freshman guard Tim Guers (Langhorne, Pa.) tallied 17.

Bentley picked up the shooting during its 56-point second half (.545 overall, 8-15 3's) and finished the game at .414, including 11 of 27 from downtown. The Falcons had seven steals and just five turnovers, but were beaten on the boards by a wide margin, 44-30.