Bentley Press Conference

MANCHESER, N.H. – An outstanding season for the Bentley University men's basketball team came to an end Tuesday night at Saint Anselm College's Stoutenburgh Gymnasium when the Falcons fell to the University of New Haven 69-60  in the NCAA Division II East Regional championship game.

Fourth-seeded New Haven (23-10) punched its ticket for Evansville and the Elite Eight for the first time and with the defending champion Falcons coming up short, the East will has a different champion for the 14^th consecutive year.

"Give them credit," said Bentley head coach Jay Lawson. They are an older team and they earned this win."

New Haven started fast, putting together a 19-2 run to go up 19-4 a little more than nine minutes into the game.

The Chargers made eight of 14 shots during that stretch, including three-pointers from grad student Quashawn Lane (Trenton, N.J.), junior Davontrey Thomas (Poughkeepsie, N.Y.) and sophomore Justin Hendrick (Valley Stream, N.Y.), while the Falcons misfired on 10 of their first 12 against the Charger zone.

It was a deficit Bentley could was unable to completely recover from. Graduate guard Mason Webb (Oklahoma City, Okla./Bishop McGuinness HS) scored six during a 9-2 spurt that reduced the New Haven lead to 21-13.

Later in the first half, graduate guard Brian Wright-Kinsey (Brooklyn, N.Y./Brooks School) sank a triple from the left corner and Bentley was within six, 29-23,with 1:31 on the clock.

New Haven scored the first four points of the second half, extending the seven point halftime lead to 11. The difference hovered between seven and 12 points the rest of the way.

"We got better as the game went on, but always chasing is tough," said Lawson, who has taken four teams to the Elite Eight. "We just couldn't get the stop."

Lane powered the Chargers with 19 points (7-11 shooting) and six assists as he was directly involved in half of his team's 26 field goals. Senior Tyrone Perry (Boston, Mass.) and Hendrick both scored 11 with Hendrick's total a career-best.

Seven-foot-one senior Majur Majak (Poughkeepsie, N.Y.) impacted the game more than his eight points inducted. He grabbed 13 rebounds, blocked three shots and impacted many others with his presence in the middle.

"This was an abnormal game because of the way the big fella affects the game," said Lawson.

All five starters for Bentley averaged in doubles for the season and that was the case again in this one. Junior guard and All-Tournament Team selection Zach Laput (Beacon Falls, Conn./Notre Dame HS) led the way with 14 points, eight rebounds and six assists and two steals..

Webb scored 13 points, Academic All-America and graduate forward Matt Leritz (St. Louis, Mo./St. Louis University) finished with 12, Wright-Kinsey scored 11 and junior guard Aaron Latham (Glastonbury, Conn./Glastonbury HS) had ten.

New Haven outshot the Falcons 51-38 percent overall, including 45-35 percent in the first half, and had a 30-14 advantage in paint points. Both teams made eight three-pointers, but the Falcons took ten more from deep, finishing with 31 attempts.

Rebounds were the same and there were only five total turnovers, just two by Bentley,

Following game, Wright-Kinsey delivered a message to the team's returning players. "Take this as and use it as motivation. That's probably why we made these runs the last couple years. For them, I want them to be themselves, get better every day, listen to coach and be there for each other".

Bentley finished the season with a 23-7 record.