MANCHESTER, N.H. – Bentley University, which led by 11 with 7:17 to play, was outscored 15-2 the rest of the way and dropped a 58-56 heartbreaker to Southern New Hampshire Wednesday night in the Northeast-10 Conference semifinals at the Stan Spirou Fieldhouse.
 
 Southern New Hampshire will host Pace, a 72-68 OT winner at top-seeded Adelphi in Saturday's championship game. Meanwhile, Bentley, 18-10 and the number seven team in this week's NCAA Division II East Region rankings, will have to wait until Sunday night's selection show to see if it's season will continue.
 
A three-pointer by SNHU junior guard Royce Williams (Manchester, N.H.) from the left wing with 2:44 left proved to be the game-winner as it turned a two-point Falcon advantage into a one-point Penmen lead, 57-56.
 
In the final minute, Bentley All-Conference sophomore forward Cooper Farrall (Valparaiso, Ind./Culver Academies) came up with a steal with 42 seconds left. The Falcons missed a potential go-ahead three, but All-Conference junior guard Cash McClure (Readfield, Maine/Maranacook HS) claimed the offensive board.
 
After a timeout, Bentley ran the clock down to about seven seconds, only to see Williams come up with a steal and feed senior Jhamyl Fricas (Lawrence, Mass.) on the break. Fricas was fouled while shooting with 0.2 on the clock and made the second of two to account for the final score.
 
McClure hit a 40-footer but two-tenths of a second was not enough for a catch-and-shoot.
 
The Falcons shut down Southern New Hampshire for the first 12 minutes of the second half, just four shots in 19 attempts, and used an 8-2 spurt to go up 11, 52-41. That surge included three balls from All-Conference graduate guard Aaron Latham (Glastonbury, Conn./Glastonbury HS) and McClure.
 
Down 54-43 as the clock dipped under seven minutes, SNHU ran off 11 unanswered to knot the score at 54 a little more than two minutes later. That run included back-to-back threes by senior guard Kyle Rocker (Lawrence, Mass.) and Williams.
 
It stayed even at 54 until a baseline jumper by McClure with 2:58 left put the visitors back on top, 56-54.
 
The first half ended with Bentley up four, 34-30, due in large part to the efforts of Farrall. He scored half of the Falcons points, with his seven of ten shooting including perfection on his three attempts from beyond the arc.
 
Bentley led by as many as ten, 31-21, on the strength of a 16-5 run. That surge included two three-pointers from Latham and four apiece from junior forward Chase Clarke (Bloomfield, N.J./Newark Academy) and Farrall.
 
Southern New Hampshire finished the half strong, using a 9-3 spurt to get back within four. Leading the Penmen during the first 20 minutes was senior forward Paul Greene (Fairport, Bahamas), with eight points and seven rebounds.
 
Farrall finished 22 points and 11 rebounds for his sixth 20-point, 10-rebound double-double of the season, his third in the last four games. His 9-of-16 shooting included four of five from three.
 
Latham added 11 points, graduate forward Ivan Misic (Toronto, Ont.) finished with 10, and McClure had seven points and eight rebounds. Clarke helped with ten rebounds off the bench.
 
Greene powered SNHU with 20 points and 14 rebounds, and Williams followed with 16. Combined, they were 15 of 35 and the rest of the team was eight of 34.
 
Bentley had a slight shooting advantage, 38-33 percent, but SNHU finished with a 14-0 advantage in points off turnovers and 11-2 in free throw attempts. The Penmen also controlled the boards over the last 30 minutes.