AMHERST, N.Y. - The fifth-seeded Saint Michael's College men's basketball team erased a 21-point second-half deficit to eliminate No. 4 Bentley University, 87-80, on Saturday during an NCAA East Regional Championship quarterfinal in Daemen University's Lumsden Gymnasium. The comeback was the largest in the region since the regional championship went to an eight-team format in 2003.
 
The Purple Knights advance to take on top-seeded Daemen, the fourth-ranked team in the latest National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) national poll, on Sunday at 7:30 p.m. in a regional semifinal. The teams also met in a 2024 regional semifinal, won 86-62 at home by Saint Michael's.
 
RECORDS

• Saint Michael's (19-13), Bentley (19-10)

SAINT MICHAEL'S LEADERS

• First-year Quintin Floyd (Windsor, Conn./Choate Rosemary Hall), 26 points (career high), 2 assists, 8-for-16 field goals, 3-for-6 three-pointers, 7-for-8 free throws
• Sophomore Greg Kenney (Williston Park, N.Y./The Frederick Gunn School/LIU), 20 points, 8 rebounds, 7-for-17 field goals, 3 three-pointers
• Junior Latiek Briscoe Jr. (Brooklyn, N.Y./Saint Francis Prep/Saint Edward's), 15 points, 3 assists, 4-for-7 field goals, 6-for-6 free throws
• Senior Zocko Littleton (Albany, Ga./Osborne/Rider), 14 points, 2 steals, 5-for-11 field goals, 3-for-6 three-pointers
• First-year John Kelley (Plaistow, N.H./Kimball Union Academy), 6 rebounds (4 offensive), 3 assists (1st college start)
• Sophomore Raph Dumont (Quebec City, Quebec/Vanier College/Arkansas-Pine Bluff), 5 points, 5 assists

OPPONENT LEADERS

• Senior Cash McClure, 27 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 blocks, 9-for-18 field goals, 7-for-7 free throws
• Sophomore Mantas Zilys, 16 points, 7 rebounds (5 offensive), 5-for-10 field goals
• Senior Chase Clarke, 15 points, 7 rebounds, 6 assists, 7-for-10 field goals
• Junior Cooper Farrall, 7 points, 8 rebounds

GAME FACTS

• The game was a tale of two halves. Bentley led 49-33 at halftime - and 54-33 by 17:27 of the second half - while holding a 23-8 rebounding lead and shooting 63.6%, aided by a 26-12 scoring lead in the paint. Saint Michael's posted a 54-31 second-stanza scoring lead behind a 22-15 rebounding advantage and shooting 51.5%, including 7-of-16 from three-point range and 18-10 in the paint. The Purple Knights committed only three turnovers in the final 20 minutes to Bentley's eight, as the Falcons also shot only 33.3% from the floor.
• The Purple Knights' comeback was the largest in the region since the regional championship went to eight teams in 2003. The previous largest comeback was from 18 down by C.W. Post during the 2009 final against these same Bentley Falcons.
• Saint Michael's, which qualified for its second NCAA Tournament in three years, won an opening-round contest for the 12th time in 14 all-time NCAA appearances.
• The Purple Knights won the season series against Bentley, 2-1, after both squads had won in the regular season on their opponent's home court.
• Saint Michael's improved to 4-2 in the all-time postseason series, including 2-0 in the NCAA Tournament after winning the 1974 New England Region third-place game, 99-91. The comeback was reminiscent of the Purple Knights' rally from down 14 points with seven minutes to go during an 83-81 Northeast 10 Conference Championship semifinal triumph.
• The Purple and Gold committed only five turnovers while assisting 14 of its 29 baskets.
• The Purple Knights' 513 made free throws this season are good for a tie for seventh in program history, and are their most since the 1998-99 team made 532.

THE ACTION

• Bentley wiped out a 7-4 deficit on the strength of a 14-2 run, leading 18-9 on Farrall's lay-up at 12:41 of the first half.
• Saint Michael's remained within single digits for much of the next nine minutes until Zilys scored six points in a 10-0 run that pushed the lead to 46-29 by 2:11. Bentley led 49-33 at halftime and a game-high 54-33 when McClure buried a three at 17:27 of the second half.
• Kenney scored the first six points and Littleton the final seven in a 13-0 run that cut the deficit to eight points by 15:05, and Littleton's triple at 12:50 made it 56-53.
• Zilys' trey provided Bentley a 65-59 lead with 9:34 remaining, but 4:33 later Saint Michael's had finished off a momentum-swinging 16-3 stretch, led by Kenney's seven points. His triple had the Purple Knights up 75-68 with 5:01 left.
• McClure's three-point play had Bentley down just 75-73 at 2:38, buy Briscoe put home a lay-up 25 seconds later before burying a key triple after senior Marcus Meeks (Prairie Village, Kan./Brewster Academy) kept the possession alive with an offensive rebound.
• Senior Joe Carroll hit a long three to make it 80-76 with 37 seconds to go, but the Purple and Gold salted the game away by shooting 7-of-8 on free throws in the final 36 seconds.

NEXT SAINT MICHAEL'S GAME

• Sunday at Daemen, 7:30 p.m. in NCAA East Regional Championship semifinal.