WALTHAM, Mass. – Sophomore forward Cooper Farrall (Valparaiso, Ind./Culver Academies) netted a career-high 26 points, including his team's first 19 of the game, and junior guard Cash McClure (Readfield, Maine/Maranacook HS) followed with 25 as Bentley pulled away for a hard-fought 80-69 win over St. Michael's College in Northeast-10 Conference men's basketball on the Dana Center's Barbara Stevens Court.
 
The two did more than just score as Farrall had a career-best 11 rebounds (for his fourth double-double) and four assists. McClure, in addition to scoring 25, had six rebounds and seven assists. Combined, they had just one turnover as well.
 
After six lead changes in the first eight-plus minutes of the second, Bentley (7-6, 4-3 NE10) was on the short end of a 51-50 score approaching the midpoint of the half.
 
The Falcons embarked on an 11-3 run, including four apiece from Farrall and McClure, to go up seven, 61-54 with 5:47 left.
 
With the margin down to four, Farrall drained a three from the right corner and graduate guard Aaron Latham (Glastonbury, Conn./Glastonbury HS) hit an elbow jumper to make it a nine-point game, 71-62 with 2:08 remaining.
 
Six Falcon free throws in the final 50 seconds, four of those by Latham, closed out the Purple Knights.
 
Farrall was the only Falcon to score in the first 11 minutes as he made his eight attempts and the rest of the team missed all 12 of their shots. That hot stretch included a trio of threes, the same number of two-point jumpers and a pair of layups.
 
McClure hit a pair of jumpers, the first with 8:48 left in the first, to give Bentley a 23-18 lead. The advantage grew to ten, 30-20, but St. Michael's (4-12, 0-8 NE10) outscored the Falcons 15-5 over the final 3:40 to forge a 35-35 halftime tie.
 
Latham was Bentley's third in doubles and finished with 12 points, four rebounds, three assists and three steals.
 
St. Michael's was led by senior guard CJ Crews (Tampa, Fla.), with 24 points and eight rebounds. He had 19 and seven in the first half, matching Farrall's numbers before the break.
 
Bentley had the advantage in field goal percentage (.439-.397), three-pointers (11-9) and assists (21-8), and committed only four turnovers.
 
Next up for the Falcons is a Saturday road game at Assumption University.