#19 BENTLEY 88, BRYANT 83 (OT)
WALTHAM, Mass. – Bryant's Dede Fogarty scored a career-high 27 points but it was not enough as 19th-ranked Bentley College pulled out an 88-83 overtime win over the Bulldogs in Northeast-10 Conference action Saturday.
The Bulldogs led 55-50 midway through the second half on a three from Fogarty with 13:15 remaining in the half. Two Fogarty free throws with three minutes left gave Bryant a 74-69 lead but Bentley, behind Shevon Gibbons and Shannon Kirwan took a 77-74 lead with 48 seconds left in regulation as Gibbons hit a tough pull-up in the lane.
Bryant (17-9, 12-9), working the ball for the last shot, tried to hit Jessie Weber (10 points in the second half), but the Falcon's double-teamed Weber and the Bulldog senior found Fogarty who drained a three at the top of the key with 4.7 seconds left to force overtime.
In the overtime, Bentley outscored the Bulldogs 9-2 in the first minutes and held on down the stretch for the win.
Bentley (23-6, 17-4) was led by Gibbons' 21 points and 11 rebounds while Kate Kelly had 17 and 11 rebounds off the bench. The Falcons out-rebounded Bryant, 63-42 in the game and made 6 of 21 three's – all coming in the second half.
Joanna Skiba had 20 points and five assists for the Bulldogs who turned the ball over 19 times but did record nine blocks.
In the first half, the Bulldogs trailed 25-16 but rallied back behind a three from Skiba and a steal and layup by Fogarty that helped cut the Bentley lead to one, 31-30 with 4:30 left. An 8-2 run by the Falcons made it 39-32 but another bucket by Fogarty and a three at the buzzer by Skiba helped tie the game 39-39 heading into the locker room at the half.
Bryant will conclude the Northeast-10 regular season Tuesday when the Bulldogs visit Merrimack College for a 7 p.m. game in Andover, Mass. The Bulldogs will host a Northeast-10 Conference tournament first round game on Sunday at the Chace Athletic Center.
NOTES … … Bentley enters today's game ranked No. 19 in the nation and four in the Northeast Region … Bryant is currently sixth in the conference standings and ranked ninth in the Northeast Region … Bentley out-rebounded the Bulldogs 30-18 in the first half, including 16 first half offensive rebounds … Bentley went 0-7 from three-point range in the first half.
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