BLOOMFIELD, NJ – Senior guard, Safee Abdus-Sabur (Newark, NJ) netted his 1,000th career point in an overtime thriller at The Den but it was not enough as the Bears men's basketball team dropped an 82-76 decision to Bentley University. The Sunday afternoon setback became Bloomfield's first loss to an NE10 team this season and moved their overall record even, at 6-6. The Falcons soared to 10-2 with the non-conference win on the road.
Abdus-Sabur entered the contest needing 23 points to achieve the career milestone but he and the Bears fell behind, 45-31 by the end of the opening half. Bentley came out red-hot, shooting 60.0 percent (18-of-30) from the field which included 6-of-10 from long range. Abdus-Sabur converted only 3-of-8 shots for 7 points in the first half as the home team went to the locker room to regroup.
Bloomfield stayed patient in the 2nd half and used a seven-minute scoring drought by the Falcons to climb back into the game. The Bears captured their first lead of the game (62-61) on a bucket from freshman, Abdallah Elsaleh (North Bergen, NJ) capping a 15-0 run. Rich Chapman (Newark, NJ) sunk a jumper with eleven seconds remaining in regulation that put the home team up 70-67 which setup a photo-finish. Bentley came down court and drained a buzzer-beating three-pointer to force overtime.
In the extra period, the visitors seized control on their opening possession with an emphatic duk and never trailed for the remainder of the game. At the end of regulation, Abdus-Sabur had 22 points, and sank a free throw in the overtime period to eclipse the 1,000 point plateau. He finished the afternoon with a game-high 26 points. Chapman and Elsaleh had 16 and 10 points respectively while junior guard Tariq McKenith (Newark, NJ) chipped in 11 points to the Bears effort. Matt Lajeunesse (Union, NJ) grabbed a team-high 10 rebounds and added 8 points.
Bloomfield's next challenge will come in the New Year when they host their final non-conference opponent on January 2nd. The Spartans from Saint Thomas Aquinas College step into the Den for a 7:00 pm showdown with live stats and video available on bcbearsathletics.com.
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