NORTH ANDOVER - Amanda Shannon was a fan in the stands the last time that Merrimack College defeated Bentley on the Volpe hardwood.

A senior at North Andover High School in March 2005, Shannon watched the team that she committed her collegiate playing days to, defeat the Falcons to win the Northeast Regional championship and send Merrimack to the Elite-8.

"I was watching in awe," said Shannon of the Merrimack-Bentley rivalry. "To feel that excitement then and now be part of it is awesome."

Last night Shannon scored 25 points, including a perfect 6-for-6 from the free throw line in overtime to carry Merrimack to a 63-59 victory over Bentley at the Volpe Center.

The win propelled the Warriors to its fourth win in five games and suddenly pumps playoff hope into the team that hadn't won a league game until two weeks ago. Merrimack (8-14 overall) is now 4-12 in Northeast-10 play and sits one game out of the final playoff spot.

"Somehow the Bentley game always ends up being the biggest game of the year," said Shannon who knocked down four 3-pointers.

The junior guard scored 17 points after the intermission to resurrect Merrimack from a 14-point (33-19) halftime deficit. The Warriors ripped off the first 13 points of the second half to close the gap to one.

"We know that we are a team that can come back and believing that is the first step," said Shannon, who played a tireless 44 minutes. "Everyone contributed tonight."

Seniors Gately Golden and Kara Borelli, who were part of that 2005 Elite-8 team, each had nine points and sophomore Casey Miller added eight.

Despite keeping things close through most of the second half, the Warriors could not catch the Falcons until Shannon netted a 3-pointer with 4:22 to play, tying the game at 41-41.

Moments later a steal by senior Ashley Brownlee led to another Shannon triple, which she promptly followed by an offensive rebound and put back to increase the lead to five.

"Amanda is successful not just by the work that she does during the season but also by the work and dedication that she puts in over the summer," said Merrimack head coach Helen Williams of Shannon.

Merrimack led by five with 1:26 to play but Bentley forced overtime and actually shut out the Warriors from the field in the extra five minutes.

All nine of Merrimack's overtime points came from the free throw line (9 for 9).

"Everyone's attitude is now, 'OK, who is next?' " said Shannon. "We believe we can win every game."

Merrimack men can't stay with Bentley

Early in the second half Merrimack College appeared on track to become the pin that would deflate Bentley's perfect balloon.

But when the Warriors' floor leader was forced to the sideline in the second half, the dream for an upset went to the sideline as well.

Merrimack fell to the nation's No. 1 team in Division 2 last night, 76-61, in a game that was within reach for Merrimack until midway through the second half.

Bentley is now 19-0 overall and 14-0 in the Northeast-10. The Falcons have now won 46 straight regular season games.

"We were there tonight but we just have to learn to put it together," said Merrimack freshman Dee Mency who scored 18 points but was forced to play most of the second half without his backcourt teammate - sophomore Darren Duncan, who sat with foul trouble and eventually fouled out.

"Darren is our floor leader and when he went out it took us out of our flow," said Mency.

The Duncan-Mency combination came into last night's game averaging 37.1 points per game between them.

Merrimack (13-8 overall, 8-8 Northeast-10) came back from first half deficits that went as high as 14 points (25-11) to take a three-point lead early in the second half.

The Warriors trailed by one (51-50) with 14:36 to play when Duncan drew his fourth foul, pushing him to the bench. Bentley used the opportunity to rattle off an 8-0 run over the next four minutes, forcing Duncan back into the game.

With eight minutes to play, Duncan was called for his fifth foul and he watched the rest of the game from the bench.

Merrimack went 9:34 without scoring a basket and was outscored 10-2 during that stretch. Bentley finished the game by limiting the Warriors to just two baskets and just 11 points in the game's final 17 minutes.

"Defensively we just didn't get it done and overall we couldn't get it done," said Mency, who hit three free throws with 4:12 left, which proved to be Merrimack's final points of the night.

Mency's trio of free throws cut the lead to five (66-61) but the Falcons ended the game on a 10-0 run to remain perfect on the season.

"This game puts us back in reality and keeps us in check," said Mency.

Merrimack will look to regain its momentum Saturday at AIC (3:30 p.m.).

Merrimack women 63, Bentley 59 (OT)

Bentley (59): Kristy McLean 3-2-8, Erica Kirwan 4-0-8, Vanessa Lux 7-6-20, Kim Brennan 5-3-13, Angela Manfredi 2-0-4, Meagan Lambros 0-0-0, Ashley Bruton 0-2-2, Dedra Pritchard 0-0-0, Kelly Barrett 2-0-4. Totals 23-13-59

Merrimack (63): Takeya Faison 1-2-4, Gately Golden 4-1-9, Kara Borelli 4-1-9, Casey Miller 3-1-8, Amanda Shannon 7-7-25, Taneka Brown 1-0-2, Ashley Brownlee 2-2-6, Sara Benischeck 0-0-0. Totals 22-14-63

Halftime: Bentley 33-19

Regulation: 54-54

3-pointers: Bentley (0-12); Merrimack (5-26) - Shannon 4, Miller

Records: Merrimack 8-14, 4-12 NE-10; Bentley 13-6, 10-4

Next game: Saturday, at AIC, 1:30 p.m.

Bentley men 76, Merrimack 61

Bentley (76): Jason Westrol 4-6-15, Lew Finnegan 10-2-23, Michael Sikonski 3-0-6, Yusuf Abdul-Ali 2-4-8, Mike Quinn 0-2-2, Brian Tracey 0-2-2, Nate Fritsch 7-1-16, Tom Dowling 2-0-4, Joe Fremeau 0-0-0. Totals 28-17-76

Merrimack (61): Chris Winter 3-0-7, Dee Mency 7-3-18, Olatungie Lightfoot-Taylor 4-1-9, Micky Burtnyk 2-2-7, Darren Duncan 5-1-12, Gerry Corcoran 2-0-6, David Kennedy 0-0-0, Jared Brownlee 1-0-2. Totals 24-7-61

Halftime: Bentley 41-38

3-pointers: Bentley (3-18) - Westrol, Finnegan, Fritsch; Merrimack (6-23) - Corcoran 2, Duncan, Burtnyk, Winters, Mency

Records: Merrimack 13-8, 8-8 NE-10; Bentley 19-0, 14-0

Next game: Saturday, at AIC, 3:30 p.m