By Julian Markese
Sports Editor
The men’s basketball team beat Bentley University 82-78 on Saturday, Jan. 31 at James Moore Field House. The win gives the Owls a record of 5-6 in the NE10, where they languish toward the bottom half.
The team had lost five of its last six games heading into the matchup against Bentley. An early spark from forward Simon Percy, a junior, gave the Owls a lead they did not relinquish.
“When we play with passion and compete like this, we are a great defensive team. We gotta compete like that for 40 minutes,” Head Coach Scott Burrell said.
The first 10 minutes were played at breakneck speed. Percy kicked things off and guard Justice Ellison, a graduate, threw down his first of four dunks in the game.
Ellison was the best player on the court. He shot 15-21 from the floor, finishing with 32 points. He had 10 rebounds and hit his first three pointer in seven games.
“Justice was special today. We want to give him confidence every game. We just got him the ball, and he executed,” Diarra said. “He was jumping out the gym.”
The Owls were in control for most of the game. Bentley simply did not have the size to compete with Diarra and forward Kazell Stewart, a senior.
The Owls finished with 48 points in the paint to Bentley’s 32. Diarra demanded attention from several defenders anytime he had the ball and was more than comfortable finding his hot handed teammate.
Diarra had seven assists, finding Ellison several times and igniting the gym.
“My teammates kept finding me and trusting me,” Ellison said. “That means a lot for my confidence.”
With the win, the Owls completed their first ever season sweep of the Falcons.
Still, a game that should have been a runaway victory turned into a four-point game in the final minute.
Lengthy inbound plays and a few mental errors allowed Bentley to creep back in.
“When we get into a lull, we can’t get down. We can’t shrug our shoulders. We gotta keep grinding through the tough times,” Burrell said.
After the game, Burrell walked into the locker room with a gold wrestling belt slung over his shoulder. It was Ellison’s prize for the day, another confidence builder, and a moment of joy for the team.
“Don’t lose this feeling,” Burrell said. “If you wanna win, this is the way you gotta play every game.”
