Finnegan nets 27 as Falcons cruise to seventh-straight win

Boxscore 

WALTHAM, Mass. (January 26, 2009) - Bentley University raced to a 30-point halftime lead and made it stand in rolling to a 95-65 victory over Franklin Pierce University in Northeast-10 Conference men's basketball action at the Dana Athletic Center tonight.

Senior Lew Finnegan (Lexington, Mass./Lexington) led Bentley with a game-high 27 points (18 first half) as he hit 10-of-14 shots from the field, including 5-for-7 from three-point range, and converted 2-of-3 free-throws to go with five rebounds, four steals and two assists over 29 minutes. Junior Jason Westrol (Brielle, N.J./Manasquan) added 18 points (13 first half) on 7-for-11 shooting from the field, converting all four free-throw attempts, while posting five rebounds and two assists. Sophomore Brian Tracey (Bow Mar, Colo./Heritage) contributed 15 points off the bench, converting all seven free-throw attempts, while classmate Tom Dowling (Rockville Center, N.Y./South Side) chipped in nine points, five rebounds and four assists.

Sophomore Kinard Dozier (Dedham, Mass./The Winchendon School) was a bright spot for Franklin Pierce with 22 points, making 10-of-15 shots from the field, and three rebounds. Junior Jack Barrett (Reading, Mass./Andover) added 11 points (all second half) and three rebounds, while senior Rimas Varanauskas (Kaunas, Lithuania/The Winchendon School) chipped in nine points, four rebounds, three assists and two blocked shots.

Bentley finished shooting 55.9-percent (33-for-59) from the field after hitting at 58.1% (18-31) in its 51-point first half. The Falcons shot 43.8% (7-16) from three-point range and converted 22-of-25 (88%) free-throw attempts. Franklin Pierce made 51.4-percent (18-of-35) of its shots in the second half to finish at 45% (27-60) for the contest, but just 7-for-26 (26.9%) from three-point range, and went to the free-throw line just five times (4-for-5).

Bentley trailed 4-1 early after Franklin Pierce baskets from Varanauskas and Dozier, but reeled off a 16-2 run to take the lead for good (17-6) after two Westrol free-throws 5:36 into the contest. The Ravens drew within eight (19-11) after a Dozier three with 10:35 to play in the first half, but the Falcons scored the next ten points, six from Finnegan, to push their lead to 18 (29-11) with 8:18 left in the frame as part of a greater 16-3 run overall that saw the advantage grow to 21 (35-14) after a Dowling tip-in with 5:08 left before halftime. Another 16-3 run over a three-minute span sent the Bentley lead to 32 (51-19) after three-straight free-throws by Tracey with 1:03 remaining.

Franklin Pierce opened the second half with a 12-1 run to close within 19 (52-33) after a Varanauskas jumper with 17:42 still to play. Barrett canned back-to-back three-pointers to spark the run. A Dozier lay-up had the Ravens within 17 (54-37) with 16:46 to go, but that would be as close as they would get as a Finnegan three capped a quick 7-0 burst to put Bentley back up 24 (61-37) and Franklin Pierce wouldn't get closer than 21 points the rest of the way, with the lead growing to as much as 34 (90-56) at one point down the stretch.

Franklin Pierce (9-9, 6-7 NE-10) is right back in action on Wednesday night when its four-game road trip (over seven days) continues against Southern New Hampshire University at 7:30 p.m. The Ravens return home on Wednesday, February 4, to host No. 13 Stonehill College at 7:30 p.m. Bentley (16-4, 10-3 NE-10) visits Stonehill on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m.