Athletics
Saint Michael's
Vermont
Saint Michael's
C.W. Post
at Stonehill Tip-Off Classic at Stonehill Tip-Off Classic
Saint Michael's
Caldwell
at Stonehill Tip-Off Classic at Stonehill Tip-Off Classic
Saint Michael's
Mass.-Lowell
Concordia (N.Y.)
Saint Michael's
Men's Basketball
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February 6, 2010
Men's Basketball Stuns 10th-Ranked Bentley, 60-51
Box Score: http://www.smcathletics.com/sports/mbkb/2009-10/stats/mbenstm.htm
COLCHESTER, Vt. - The Saint Michael's College men's basketball team (9-12, 5-12 Northeast-10 Conference) snapped its four-game losing skid in surprising fashion on Saturday, upsetting 10th-ranked and league-leading Bentley University, 60-51, in conference action on Saturday at the Ross Sports Center.
For the Purple Knights, junior Nate Birr (Burnsville, Minn./Saint Thomas Academy) scored a season-high, and game-high, 18 points, making 5-of-9 shots from the field and 3-of-4 3-pointers. Birr added three steals in the win, while freshman Travis Warech (Pine Brook, N.J./Montville) notched 12 points and three assists. Sophomore Qua'ron Pinckney (Bronx, N.Y./Saint Benedict's Prep (N.J.)) chipped in with 10 points, eight rebounds, and three assists as the Purple Knights made 15-of-21 free throws in the second half to hold off the Falcons. Sophomore Tyler Schilling (Excelsior, Minn./Minnetonka) grabbed a team-best nine rebounds to go along with eight points on 4-of-5 shooting from the field.
For Bentley (19-3, 14-3 NE-10), senior Jason Westrol (Brielle, N.J./Manasquan) recorded 13 points, but played just eight minutes in the second half due to an injury suffered midway through the second period. Juniors Joe Fremeau (Manchester, N.H.) and Brian Tracey (Bow Mar, Colo.) added 10 points apiece, with Tracey collecting a team-best nine rebounds. Bentley, first in this week's NCAA Division II East Regional Rankings, saw its 14-game winning streak come to an end, as the Falcons made just 1-of-22 3-pointers in the contest, including 0-of-14 in the second half.
Bentley scored the first seven points of the contest, and held Saint Michael's scoreless for nearly five minutes to open the game. Saint Michael's bounced back, however, and took its first lead, 24-23, following a Warech 3-pointer with 4:47 left in the first half. That was the first of five lead changes in the opening period, before the Purple Knights settled on a 31-29 lead at intermission.
Saint Michael's stretched its lead in the second half, as the Purple Knights opened the period on a 19-5 run to take a game-high 16-point lead, 50-34, with 11:25 remaining following a Birr trifecta. Saint Michael's still led by 13 points, 54-41, with less than eight minutes to go, before the Falcons went on an 8-0 run over a seven-minute span to trim its deficit to 54-49 with 1:52 left in regulation. The visitors, however, could get no closer, as Bentley made just one of its last seven field goals, while the Purple Knights drained 6-of-10 free throws in the final 63 seconds to complete the dramatic win.
Saint Michael's returns to action on Tuesday with a 7:30 p.m. contest at league rival Franklin Pierce University. Bentley next plays on Tuesday, hosting Saint Anselm College at 7:30 p.m.
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