Worcester, Mass. (November 19) -- Led by a 21-point outburst by junior Karl Ziegler (Annandale, Va./Annandale), the Assumption College men's basketball team came away with an 81-74 home win over Bentley University on Wednesday night at Laska Gym. The Hounds trailed by a 36-34 margin at the half before exploding for 47 points in the second period for the win.

Bentley got off to a fast start over the first 5:32, seizing a 13-4 lead after a layup by Tyler Gibson capped a 9-0 run for the Falcons. Assumption answered with a 9-0 run of its own over the next 3:14, capped by a Ziegler layup to tie the game at 13-13 with 11:14 remaining in the half. Neither team led by more than three until the five-minute mark as junior Tre Owens (Rota, Spain/Rota) knocked down a three-pointer to give the Hounds a 29-25 advantage.

Assumption stretched that lead up to five with 3:59 on the clock before an 8-0 Falcon run over just 2:04 put the Hounds in a 35-32 hole. Ending the half at 36-34 in favor of Bentley, Assumption shot 46.7 percent from the field in the first period, but knocked down just one three-pointer and was outscored 14-5 at the free throw line.

In the second half, neither team led by more than two points until eight minutes in when a Ziegler jumper put Assumption in front 51-48 with 12 minutes left. That lead was short lived though as Keegan Hyland dropped in a three just 26 seconds later for the 12th tie of the game at 51-51. On the following possession, junior Terrance Bobb-Jones (Wilmington, Del./DelCastle-Voc Tech) put the Hounds ahead to stay with a layup as he ended the game with a 17-point, 12-rebound double-double.

Three straight free throws by sophomore Marcus Murray (Washington, D.C./John F. Kennedy) made it a 10-point lead for the Hounds with 1:20 left before Assumption came away with the eventual seven-point win.

Ziegler paced the Hounds with 21 points as he shot 7-for-9 from the field, 7-for-7 from the free throw line and pulled down nine rebounds while playing all 40 minutes. Sophomore Kamali Bey (Springfield, Mass./Wilbraham & Monson Academy) picked up 17 points off the bench, along with a 14-point effort by Murray.

Tyler McFarland paced Bentley with a 17-point, 10-rebound double-double, along with 18 points by Hyland and 15 points by Ferguson Duke.

In the second half, Assumption outscored Bentley 18-1 at the free throw line and shot 53.8 percent from the field to come away with the win.

Assumption is now 2-1 overall and 1-0 in Northeast-10 play, while Bentley drops to 1-2 overall and 0-1 in the league.

The Hounds are back in action on Saturday, November 22nd as the team travels to No. 21 ranked Saint Anselm for a 3:30 p.m. start at Stoutenburgh Gym.

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