WALTHAM, Mass. - A 7-2 run in the final 1:14 of regulation propelled the Saint Michael's College men's basketball team past Bentley University, 77-76, on Wednesday evening in the Dana Center for its first win of the season. The Purple Knights are now 1-7 overall and 1-5 in the Northeast-10 Conference, moving to 5-3 in their last eight games at the Dana Center, while the Falcons fell to 4-5 and 2-4. Bentley was the 2016 NE10 Championship runner-up and an NCAA Tournament qualifier last spring.

Senior Matt Bonds (Accokeek, Md./North Point) put together 27 points on 12-of-16 shooting with 16 rebounds, including five offensive boards, for Saint Michael's, posting his seventh 20-point game and sixth double-double this season. Sophomore Levi Holmes III (East Brunswick, N.J./Rutgers Prep) shot 7-of-10 en route to 19 points, which included a 3-of-5 three-point effort, and senior David Sullivan (Egg Harbor Township, N.J./Saint Augustine Prep) totaled a career-high 13 points to go along with three assists, connecting on all seven free throw attempts. First-year Stan Foster (Rochester, N.Y./Avon Old Farms School) came off the bench to grab four rebounds and block four shots after the entire Saint Michael's team entered the game with six rejections this season.

The Purple Knights shot 54.0 percent from the floor while yielding their lowest point total this season. During the game, Bonds increased his career rebound figure to 875, passing Brian Monahan '08 (869) to take over seventh in program history while coming within five of sixth-place Rich Tarrant '65 (880). Bonds also moved into 27th place in scoring (1,144), passing Tom Lemanowicz '57 (1,118), Bernie Cieplicki '57 (1,138) and Gus Gabriel '88 (1,139) along the way.

Sophomore Ryan Richmond led Bentley with 17 points and seven rebounds, junior Brandon Wheeler had 16 points and six boards, while senior Tyler Gibson notched 14 points and eight caroms, with six offensive.

With Saint Michael's down 71-70 in the waning moments of the game, Bonds banked a go-ahead bucket from the right block with 1:14 left to put the visitors up for good, and Bentley missed a three on the next possession, leading to Sullivan getting fouled and making both free throws at 38.7 seconds. The Falcons cycled the ball looking for an open look at a tying triple on the next possession, but senior Zaire Williams (Paterson, N.J./Newark Academy) contested the shot Bentley ultimately took, and Foster snared the board before making a free throw at 11.0 ticks on his first college attempt. Richmond's lay-in was then countered by two Holmes free throws at 3.2 seconds, and Richmond's triple at 0.8 seconds cut the lead to 77-76 before Bonds quickly sent an outlet inbounds pass for Holmes, who streaked toward the other hoop and could not be fouled prior to the buzzer.

Junior Bruno Beča's (Zagreb, Croatia/Westchester Country Day School) jumper 36 seconds into the game provided the first scoring before Wheeler had the final six points of an 8-1 Bentley run. Wheeler's two free throws pushed the Falcon lead to a half-high seven points at 14-7 by the 15:11 mark, and Saint Michael's crept within three points on five occasions before Gibson's lay-up had the score at 25-20 with 7:49 to go. Bonds and Holmes combined for 13 of their team's points in an ensuing 14-4 run, during which Holmes knocked down three three-pointers in a matter of 2:12. Bonds' jumper kept his team in front 34-29 with 3:12 to go.

Williams hit a jumper at 2:24 before Wheeler's two freebies at 1:32 accounted for the final points of the half. The Purple Knights led 36-34 at halftime. In the opening stanza, Bonds and Holmes combined for 27 of their team's 36 points, shooting 11-of-13 and pulling 10 of the visitors' 18 rebounds. Holmes was 3-of-3 from beyond the arc while his teammates combined to miss all four attempts. Saint Michael's shot 50.0 percent to the Falcons' 38.7 percent, which included a 2-of-11 showing from three-point range.

Senior Matt Barr's trey 21 seconds into the second half put Bentley back in front, but Holmes notched a go-ahead lay-up at 17:58 while Foster threw down a dunk and Sullivan hit two free throws in the ensuing 56 seconds to make it 42-37. Sullivan added two buckets to account for six points in what ultimately became an 11-3 run, and the visitors led 49-40. First-year Seth Stankiewicz's jumper cut the Falcon deficit to 51-47, but Bonds totaled six points in 56 seconds to key a 9-2 run, and Saint Michael's held a game-high 11-point lead at 60-49 with 9:12 to go.

The Falcons pushed back in front on the strength of a 20-8 run that took 5:58, matching their point total from the previous 15:04. Gibson had seven of the points and Richmond five, and Wheeler's lay-up with 3:03 left put Bentley up 69-68. Bonds converted Holmes' pass 14 seconds later for a go-ahead hoop, Gibson's bucket at 2:22 gave the hosts a one-point edge, and neither team scored until Bonds' go-ahead bucket with 1:14 remaining.

The Purple Knights visit 18th-ranked Southern New Hampshire University on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. for a contest that will be broadcast live on NESNplus and NESN National. The Penmen's national ranking is according to the D2SIDA National Media Poll. Southern New Hampshire won the 2016 NE10 Championship before qualifying for its second consecutive NCAA Tournament.