COLLEGE ROUNDUP: Bentley tops NCAA champs

Sophomore forward Colette Josey had a career-best 20 points, on 10-of-12 shooting off the bench, and junior guard Kristy McLean matched her career high with 18 points, as Bentley edged defending NCAA Division II national champion Southern Connecticut State, 65-62, in Northeast-10 Conference women's basketball last night at the Moore Field House.

Bentley, No. 7 in the preseason USA Today/WBCA Division II coaches poll and a slight favorite over Southern and AIC in the NE-10 rankings, improved to 2-1 overall and 1-0 in the conference after limiting the Owls to just four points and one field goal over the final 9:30.

Southern, ranked second in Division II preseason, had won 12 straight overall and 22 consecutive home games, including its season-opener Saturday evening. It had not lost a regular season home game in nearly two years.

After being held scoreless for about 4:40, a stretch in which Southern scored ten unanswered points, Bentley found itself on the short end of a 58-49 tally. With Southern All-America forward Kate Lynch on the bench for a rare breather, the Falcons climbed back into the contest with eight straight points, the first six scored by Josey.

Following a basket by Southern guard Kaylie Schiavetti that interrupted the Falcon run, a put-back by Josey and a short jumper by freshman guard Kim Brennan lifted the Falcons in front to stay, 61-60 with 4:36 left. McLean followed with a 12-foot jumper, making it 63-60 with four minutes straight up.

One of two free throws by sophomore Jacqueline Johannes with 2:15 remaining and the same by Lynch with 1:10 on the clock cut the Bentley advantage to one, 63-62. After a defensive stop, Lynch missed a potential go-ahead lay-up and McLean grabbed the rebound. She was immediately fouled and made both free throws with 21 seconds left, making it a three-point game.

Following a Bentley timeout, the Falcons made one final defensive stand. They never allowed Southern to attempt a three, with the game-ending on a meaningless off-target jumper by Schiavetta inside the arc.

Bentley will open its home schedule Sunday at 1:30 p.m. against UMass-Lowell.

Brandeis 70, Wellesley 37
Brandeis University senior Jamie Capra became just the eighth woman in Judges history to net 1,000 points as Brandeis defeated Wellesley College 70-37.

Capra scored four of the Judges' points in the first minute and a half as Brandeis jumped out to an early seven-point lead. After trading jumpers, Wellesley cut the lead to five with a lay-up from Julia Thomas at the 16-minute mark. The five-point deficit was the closest that Wellesley would come to Brandeis as the Judges took a 44-13 point lead into the lockerroom.

Carpra led Brandeis with a game-high 15 points. Three other Judges finished in double digits with Jessica Chapin, Lauren Orlando and Cassidy Dadaos each adding 10 points apiece.

Brandeis (2-1) will return to the court on Saturday at 1 p.m. as it hosts Tufts University.

Men's Basketball
Bentley 92, SCCU 53
Sophomore guard Jason Westrol led six double-figure scorers with 16 points as Bentley blitzed Southern Connecticut State with a 53-16 explosion en route to a 92-53 win in Northeast-10 Conference men's basketball at the Moore Field House. It was the 30th straight regular season win for the Falcons, who have also won their last 24 NE-10 contests, tying their own conference record (set from 2004-2005).

Bentley, ranked second nationally in the preseason NABC Division II coaches poll, improved to 3-0 overall, with an average margin of victory of 24.7 points, and 1-0 in the NE-10. Southern fell to 0-2, both overall and in the conference.

Coming out of the break, the Falcons used a 53-16 crushing over a span of 18:33, one that resulted in an 80-43 game with five minutes to play.

Bentley, after three games in five days on the road, will open its home schedule Sunday against UMass-Lowell (3:30 p.m.).

Brandeis 89, Suffolk 59
Sophomore Terrell Hollins scored 24 points to lead four players in double figures as 12th-ranked Brandeis shot 55 percent from the field en route to an 89-59 non-league college men's basketball victory over Suffolk at Regan Gymnasium.

The visiting Judges (3-0) overcame an early eight-point deficit (14-6) with a 25-9 run over an eight-plus minute stretch to take an eight-point lead of their own at 31-23 with 8:28 remaining in the first half. After the host Rams (0-3) had cut that margin back to five (36-31) on a 3-pointer by junior Brian Small, Brandeis scored 15 of the final 19 points before intermission to take a 51-31 lead at the break.

Brandeis travels to Medford on Sunday afternoon to square off with Tufts in a non-league contest that also begins at 2 p.m.