Bentley Coasts Past 
Franklin Pierce, 92-57
Huge second-half effort keys Falcons 
in snapping Ravens three-game win streak

WALTHAM, Mass. (February 7, 2004) – Bentley College out-scored Franklin Pierce by 32-points in the second half to post a 92-57 victory in Northeast-10 Conference men’s basketball action at the Dana Athletic Center this afternoon.

Sophomore guards Sean Cooke (East Windsor, N.J.) and Tim Forbes (Attleboro, Mass.) combined for 40 points as Bentley, which never trailed in the contest, shot 48.6-percent (34-70) from the field, including 53.8% (21-39) in the second half, while limiting Franklin Pierce to just 30-percent (21-70) shooting, 28.1% (9-32) over the final 20 minutes.

Cooke led all scorers with 21 points (12 first half), aided by 5-10 shooting from three-point range, to go with five rebounds, six assists, three blocks and two steals. Forbes finished with 19 points (14 second half) on 7-11 shooting from the field, including 4-6 from long-distance, to go with four rebounds, five assists and two steals.

Senior Pat Lynch (Belmar, N.J.) notched a double-double with 11 points and ten boards while also totaling three assists and two steals. Freshman Jeff Holmes (Westbrook, Maine) chipped in 12 points on 4-4 shooting from the field to go with a 4-5 effort at the line.

Senior preseason All-American Jimmie Hunt (Utica, N.Y./Mount Ararat (Maine)) paced Franklin Pierce for the seventh time over the last eight games with 15 points (13 second half) to go with four rebounds and two assists. Sophomore Justin Powell (Brookline, Mass./Brookline) added 14 points (10 first half) and five rebounds (four offensive), while senior Derek Rodgerson (Newburgh, Maine/Hampden Academy) finished with 12 points, three boards, three assists and two steals. Freshman Darryl Minifield (Brookline, Mass./Brookline) led all Raven rebounders for the eighth time this season with six.

Bentley held a three-point edge (33-30) at the break, but roared to life in the second half. The Falcons yielded back-to-back scores to the Ravens just once over the final 20 minutes and that came after Rodgerson scored a lay-up with 1:33 to play after freshman Sean Mayo (Saco, Maine/Thornton Academy) canned a free-throw.

The Falcons led by four points (38-34) after a Powell lay-up for the Ravens 1:58 into the second stanza, but posted a 16-2 run over the next four minutes to break open an 18-point advantage (54-36) after Lynch converted a conventional three-point play with 14:50 to play.

Leading by 15 points (60-45) with 12:37 on the clock, Bentley put the contest away with a 26-5 run for a 36-point gap (86-50) with 4:47 to play. That run also contained two separate 10-0 rallies.

Bentley scored the first 11 points over the first 4:06 of the contest before Franklin Pierce got on the board with a Rodgerson jumper at the 14:53-mark. That started a 9-2 run that got the Ravens back within four points (13-9) with 12:09 left in the stanza. Franklin Pierce would get as close as three-points on six occasions down the stretch in the first half including when Rodgerson stole a pass and raced down court for a three-ball at the halftime horn.

Franklin Pierce (10-11, 7-10 NE-10) returns to action on Tuesday when it visits Merrimack College at 7:30 p.m. Bentley (12-10, 10-7 NE-10) visits Southern New Hampshire University on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m.

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