PHILADELPHIA, Pa. -- Junior guard Tom Dowling (Rockville Centre, N.Y./South Side HS) erupted for 23 points on 10-of-11 shooting and senior All-America Jason Westrol (Brielle, N.J./Manasquan HS) followed with 19 points and five steals as Bentley University led throughout en route to a 91-65 victory over Holy Family University in non-conference men's basketball Saturday afternoon at the Campus Center Gym.
This was the second straight year that a Falcon had turned in a 10-for-11 effort against the Tigers, Lew Finnegan doing the same last November in a 94-61 victory.
The win was the third of the season without a loss for the Falcons, who were ranked ninth in the preseason NABC Division II coaches' poll.
With Holy Family (0-2) missing seven of its first eight shots, Bentley jumped out to a 10-2 lead after five minutes and were up 16, 22-6, by the time the game was eight minutes old. The first-half dominance continued with the Falcons stretching the lead to 31-10 with nine minutes left and 36-14 with 6:34 on the clock.
Dowling, by intermission, had already scored 15 points without missing a shot. He was perfect in six field goal attempts, one of those a three-pointer, and also had a pair of free throws. Westrol, making his 100th career start, had 10 points and five assists at the break, and sophomore forward Kevin Kettl (Hershey, Pa./Hershey HS), returning to his home state for the first time as a collegian, had seven points and four boards off the bench.
By the time the second half of six minutes old, Holy Family had whittled the Falcon lead from 21 to 14, 59-45. Any hopes of a come-from-behind win were quickly dashed with Bentley scoring 13 straight points to go up 27, 72-45. A Dowling lay-up began the surge, Westrol scored the next seven, and both junior forward Brian Tracey (Bow Mar, Colo./Heritage HS) and Kettl added baskets.
The Bentley lead eventually topped at 35, 85-50 with 5:40 left.
Dowling, who came within one of his career scoring best, also had five rebounds and two assists. Westrol, 8 of 12 from the field, also provided six assists and five rebounds. Tracey finished with 15 points and eight rebounds, and Kettl established career-highs for the second time in four days, with 11 points and nine rebounds in 24 minutes off the bench. Junior guard Mike Quinn (Oakdale, Conn./Montville HS) only scored six points, but had eight assists, four rebounds and four steals.
Six-foot-nine Justin Swidowski was a force for Holy Family, finishing with 27 points, 10 rebounds and six blocked shots.
Bentley shot 49 percent overall, including 58 percent inside the arc, and had a 54-34 advantage in points in the paint. The Falcons were also plus-14 on the boards, 52-38, and accumulated 28 points off turns and 16 on the fast break.
Bentley returns to Northeast-10 play Tuesday night at Saint Anselm.
