WALTHAM, Mass. – Bentley University's four-game winning streak came to an end Saturday afternoon when Caldwell University used a strong finish to edge the Falcons, 66-63, in non-conference men's basketball on the Dana Center's Barbara Stevens Court.
 
The Falcons, 5-5 overall, ran off ten straight points to take a game-high 12-point advantage, 61-49, with 7:47 to play. But the rest of the afternoon belonged to the visitors as the Cougars closed with a 17-2 run to improve to 9-3 on the season.
 
Bentley's 10-0 run featured graduate forward Ivan Misic (Toronto, Ont.), who had eight of his team-best 17 points during that stretch. He scored inside, and after a driving lay-up by graduate guard Aaron Latham (Glastonbury, Conn./Glastonbury HS), sank a pair of trifectas.
 
The last one, from the right corner, proved to be the Falcons' final field goal of the contest. Bentley's last 12 possessions included seven missed shots, four turnovers and a pair of free throws by sophomore forward Cooper Farrall (Valparaiso, Ind./Valparaiso HS) with 5:39 to play.
 
Meanwhile, Caldwell made seven of its final ten shots, including three from distance, to earn the come-from-behind victory.
 
Leading the Cougars down the stretch was sophomore guard Isaiah Philbott (Bronx, N.Y.), who scored ten of his game-high 19 points in the final six minutes. He was four-for-four during that span with two three-pointers and two mid-range jumpers.
 
Philbott's trey from the left wing with 3:52 left reduced the Bentley advantage to one, 63-62, and senior guard Mark Heber (Paterson, N.J.) drained a jumper in the paint with 2:41 remaining accounted for the 11^th and final lead change of the day.
 
There was only one basket the rest of the way, a Philbott 17-footer with 1:22 to play that made it a three-point game.
 
Two Cougar blocked shots and two missed long balls for Bentley denied the Falcons over the final 65 seconds.
 
A Misic-fueled 11-0 run put Bentley up eight with five minutes left in the first half, 25-17. That surge included three lay-ups by the six-seven forward and a banked-in three from junior forward Chase Clarke (Bloomfield, N.J./Newark Academy).
 
Bentley remained in front for most of the next 17-plus minutes, before the lengthy game-ending scoring drought.
 
Also scoring in doubles for Bentley were Farrall, with 15, and junior guard Cash McClure (Readfield, Maine/Maranacook HS), with 12. Farrall also had seven rebounds and five assists while McClure's stat line included eight boards, two assists, two blocks and a steal.
 
The Falcons matched their lowest field goal percentage of the season (.371) and were only seven of 25 from three-point land. On the other hand, the Cougars shot .421 overall, including .552 after intermission.
 
Turnovers were essentially even (Bentley, with nine, had one more) but points off favored the visitors, 14-6.
 
Following a break for the holidays, the Falcons will return to action Jan. 2 at Southern New Hampshire.