Bentley begins title quest
By JEFF THOMAS, The Republican
The Bentley College men's basketball team was focused on a return
trip to the NCAA Division II tournament after last year's
spectacular run to the Elite Eight in Springfield.
The Falcons just didn't expect to be perfect in that pursuit.
Ranked No. 1 since the first poll came out in late November,
Waltham's Bentley College has accomplished the improbable, turning
in back-to-back perfect seasons in the Northeast 10 Conference and
taking an unblemished mark into tonight's NE-10 tournament
quarterfinal game against LeMoyne.
"We had no intention of it happening," Bentley coach Jay Lawson
said. "It's surprising, it's amazing, and it's unique."
The fact that the Falcons ran the table through one of the toughest
conferences in the country and set an NCAA Division II record for
consecutive regular seasons wins (54), and did it with just two
seniors, is what has Lawson so surprised.
The Falcons of 2006-07 had five seniors who played a lot of
minutes. They went 32-0 before falling to top-ranked, unbeaten and
defending national champion Winona State in the quarterfinals.
Despite having just two seniors - Yusuf Abdul-Ali of Springfield
and Nate Fritsch - the Falcons have played with poise and purpose
all season, pulling out the close games.
"We've been fortunate to win six or seven games that could have
gone either way," Lawson said.
Last year's seniors handled the maturity for the Falcons, but this
year it was up to Fritsch and, in particular Abdul-Ali. As a
fifth-year senior Fritsch would have graduated with last year's
class, but a redshirt season because of an injury allowed him to
come back this year.
Fritsch's leadership was a known quality, and he proved that when
he agreed to come off the bench at the start of games in deference
to his reduced practice time because of a chronic cartilage problem
in his knee.
"He manages with swimming and shooting," Lawson said. "The biggest
thing is he's been in uniform on game days."
Abdul-Ali, who played his high school basketball at New Leadership
Charter School, played sparingly his first two seasons, but as the
point guard the last two years he's amassed a record of 59-1.
"Yusuf has his best season and his story is a good one," Lawson
said. "He didn't get off the bench for two years and now has
started for two years and we have an incredible record with
him.
"Yusuf has blossomed into more than just a high-level player,"
Lawson added.
Abdul-Ali is the point guard on a team that starts four players who
were point guards in high school. The Falcons capitalize on that by
using tremendous ball movement to find the right player for the
shot.
He's one of four players who average better than 10 points a game
on Bentley, but his assist average is just under four a game, a low
number for a team averaging better than 77 points a game.
"The way we play he doesn't even get a lot of assists," Lawson
said. "He's probably got a tremendous amount of hockey
assists."
Lawson said the best thing about Abdul-Ali is he's unflappable,
even against the best defenders, like Winona State's Jonte Flowers,
the all-time steals leader in Division II history.
"I've never seen a defensive player bother him," Lawson said. "Even
when we scrimmaged Division I teams he hasn't been pressured. No
one can pressure him into a mistake."
None of the Falcons have made too many mistakes. Lew Finnegan and
Jason Westrol lead the team in scoring at 14.5 a game, followed by
Fritsch (13.1) and Abdul-Ali (11.3).
The same five have started every game and Fritsch is the first one
off the bench. While the Falcons spread out the offense, the
defense is even better. Bentley leads the NE-10 in rebounding
despite not being the biggest team.
Lawson said they've done a good job handling teams with a dominant
big man, but one that has caused them some problems is LeMoyne,
tonight's opponent.
That's why the Falcons need to be focused on the opponent in front
of them. That and the fact that they've had a six-day layoff since
last playing and everyone plans on giving them their best shot.
"We're not going to think about anything but playing that team,"
Lawson said. "Let's get in that first game and get between the
lines for 40 minutes and just compete."
If the formula works, the Falcons could be looking at a return trip
to the MassMutual Center for the Elite Eight.