Box Score WALTHAM, Mass. – No. 8 seed Felician University was defeated, 95-63, during the first round of the 2022 NCAA Division II Men's Basketball East Regional Championship tournament by event host Bentley University on Saturday evening at the Dana Center.
Bentley (23-4), the Northeast 10 Conference champion, is the East Region's No. 1 seed and is ranked No. 14 in the most recent national Division II coaches' poll. They move on to a regional semifinal date with No. 5 seed Pace University on Sunday night at the Dana Center.
Felician, the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference champion, sees the 26th season in program history end with a won-lost record of 19-10. The 19 victories are the second-highest total for the Golden Falcons, behind only their 2009-10 squad that went 24-7 and captured their only other CACC title.
"Today was a very humbling experience," said Felician redshirt junior guard and tri-captain Jaylen Colon (Paterson, N.J.). "But at the end of the day, we won our conference championship and got something good out of the season. To play in the NCAA tournament, I'm very grateful. Hopefully next year, we'll be back here in the same spot."
Bentley took control early in the contest. With Felician ahead, 8-7, Bentley senior Mason Webb (Oklahoma City, Okla.) made consecutive three-point field goals, forcing a quick Golden Falcon timeout. But Webb drained another three coming out of that break. The trio of long jumpers began what would become a 35-2 run for the hosts that lasted nearly 14 minutes of wall time. Even with Felician junior Justin Davis (Jersey City, N.J.) canning a three-pointer during the closing seconds, Bentley entered halftime with a 51-19 advantage. The spread grew as large as 80-29 with 11:26 left in the contest.
"I think we ran up against the best team we played this season," said Felician head coach Ivan Lewis. "Hats off to Bentley and that program. They showed why they're No. 1 in the region."
The Golden Falcons' 63 points and .319 field-goal percentage were both season lows. Bentley piled up a 59-29 rebounding advantage. Led by an 8 for 11 performance from Webb behind the arc, the hosts made 19 three-pointers.
"We didn't do a very good job of moving and anticipating on the defensive end," Lewis said. "Bentley moves the ball well and moves their bodies well and are able to create high-percentage shots."
Davis led Felician with 19 points and nine rebounds. Junior Dee-End McRae (Newark, N.J.) and freshman Sean McCarthy (Cork, Ireland) scored 10 points apiece. Colon, who had nine points and four steals, became Felician's all-time assist leader during the contest. His lone helper gave him 346, breaking his tie with Bilal Rodgers for the Golden Falcons' career lead.
Webb scored 25 points with seven rebounds in 21 minutes. Bentley First-Team All-Region honoree Jordan Mello-Klein (Sharon, Mass.) finished with 11 points, 13 rebounds and nine assists in 24 minutes.
"We're going to play this game back in our minds all spring and all summer and all preseason and use it to fuel us," Lewis said. "Bentley has provided the blueprint as to what the standard is in the region and now my goal is to build this program to compete regionally."
More information about the 2022 NCAA Division II Men's Basketball East Regional Championship Tournament is available at https://bentleyfalcons.com/sports/mbkb/ncaaeastregional2022.
