Men's Basketball
Inside Men's Basketball
Jay Lawson, Head Coach
Kevin Bettencourt, Assistant Coach
Jay Lawson
Men's Basketball Coach
Send an email to Coach Lawson
The Bentley program has been a model of consistency over the past two decades and much of this can be attributed to the leadership of head coach Jay Lawson. At a time when the Northeast-10 Conference has grown into the nation’s deepest and most competitive league, Lawson and his staff have provided the teams with exceptional continuity and direction.
Under his guidance, the Falcons have achieved winning records in 18 of 19 seasons (including the last 15) and have an overall record of 390-178 (.687).
It’s been quite a run for Bentley, which has averaged 28.2 wins over the last six years, the third highest total in Division II. The Falcons won an unprecedented five straight Northeast-10 regular season championships from 2005-09, have reached the NCAA Division II Sweet Sixteen five times since 2005 and have competed in three Elite Eights since 2007.
The most recent Elite Eight appearance came last March when Bentley reached the national semifinals for the second time in three years, capping a second straight 26-7 season.
The team's recent success has featured the two best seasons in the program’s and the conference’s, history. From 2006-08, Bentley posted a combined 66-2 record, made the first two Elite Eight trips in the program’s history, twice broke the record for longest winning streak in New England annals, and broke a 63-year-old Division II national record for longest regular season winning streak, finishing the 2007-08 season with 54 straight.
The phenomenal two-year stretch began during the 2006-07 season when the Falcons won their first 32 games before losing in the Elite Eight to reigning national champion Winona State, which was also undefeated at the time. The Bentley win streak broke the New England record of 29, set by a Bob Cousy-led Holy Cross team 57 years earlier. Other special achievements included the NE-10 regular season and playoff championships as well as the program’s first NCAA Division II Northeast Regional title. Bentley also became the first NE-10 team to achieve a 22-0 conference record and spent the final five weeks of the season ranked #2 nationally.
What happened the next season was even more amazing. The 2007-08 Falcons actually improved on the incredible achievements from the previous year! This time they won their first 34 games en route to the Elite Eight and along the way again won the NE-10 regular season crown, the conference playoffs and a second consecutive Northeast Regional championship.
Bentley spent the entire 2007-08 season ranked #1 in the national poll and finished the season again with a just a single loss to eventual champion Winona State (this time in the national semifinal game). The Falcons finished the campaign with a string of 54 straight wins over conference opponents, a remarkable feat given the competitiveness of the NE-10.
Bentley turned in another championship season in 2008-09, finishing at an impressive 26-7 while extending its string of Northeast-10 regular season titles to an amazing five, winning the conference by two games over UMass-Lowell. Lawson’s club reached the NCAA Division II regional championship game for the fourth time in five years.
Before ending, the Falcons’ NCAA Division II record regular season winning streak reached 55, matching the string of 55 consecutive W’s against conference foes.
The remarkable six-year run began during the 2004-05 season when the Falcons finished 30-6, the first of three times in four seasons that Bentley would reach 30 wins.
The 2005 team won 21 straight games en route to the 30 wins, a conference regular season title and an appearance in the NCAA Division II Sweet Sixteen. After reaching #1 in the rankings in early February, that team completed the season with a final national ranking of #10. Prior to that season, it had been a dozen years since a Northeast Region team had won at least 30 games.
Success for Bentley under Lawson began in his first season. The Falcons achieved a 17-10 record during the 1991-92 campaign, a turnaround of seven games from the year before.
That success was just a precursor to what was to come. In his second year, a veteran group of Falcons finished 24-7 (final national ranking of #11), won the Northeast-10 regular season title and earned a trip to the NCAA Division II Northeast Regional.
Lawson’s 1995-96 team was saluted as the most improved Division II team by the NECBA. That winter, Lawson guided the Falcons to an 18-9 season and a second-place tie in the Northeast-10, improving on the previous season’s mark by eight games and five places in the standings. That was the beginning of the current streak of 15 straight winning seasons.
The 2002 team earned an automatic berth to the NCAA tournament after emerging from the fourth seed to win the NE-10 playoff championship.
Lawson, the winningest and longest-tenured coach in the program’s history, also ranks high amongst the top Division II coaches nationally in both winning percentage and victories. He is the only man who has been named the Northeast-10 Coach of the Year and the NABC Division II Northeast Region Coach of the Year more than three times, winning each on five occasions (1993, 2004, 2005, 2007, 2008). He was the Division II Bulletin National Coach of the Year in 2005, and the Basketball Times co-Division II Coach of the Year in 2007 and 2008. He has also been cited by the New England Basketball Coaches Association (1993, 2004) and the New England Basketball Hall of Fame (2004).
Recruiting and developing good players (and coaches) is an important part of any successful program. During his 25 years at Bentley (he was an assistant for six years before taking the helm in September 1991), Lawson has coached 38 of the program’s top 61 scorers, and 27 All-Northeast-10 honorees. Two of his former top assistants (Jim Ferry and Jack Perri) both left Bentley for head coaching positions and earned Coach of the Year awards their first season in charge. Ferry (head) and Perri (assistant) are now together on the staff at Division I Long Island University.
Prior to coming to Bentley, Lawson spent coaching stints at Fairfield University (assistant in 1991), Dartmouth College (assistant in 1984-85), Lexington High School (assistant from 1982-84) and Upper Cape Regional High School (head coach from 1980-82).
Lawson, 53, is a Cleveland, Ohio native and a 1979 graduate of the University of New Hampshire. He and his wife, Claudia, have two children, Danny (26), a former Bentley player, and Emily (23). They now reside in Waltham.
The Lawson Record
|
|
All Games |
Northeast-10 |
| |||||
|
Year |
W |
L |
PCT |
W |
L |
PCT |
Place | |
|
91-92 |
17 |
10 |
.630 |
10 |
8 |
.556 |
4th | |
|
92-93 |
24 |
7 |
.774 |
15 |
3 |
.833 |
1st | |
|
93-94 |
14 |
13 |
.519 |
8 |
10 |
.444 |
t-7th | |
|
94-95 |
10 |
17 |
.370 |
7 |
11 |
.389 |
t-7th | |
|
95-96 |
18 |
9 |
.667 |
11 |
5 |
.688 |
t-2nd | |
|
96-97 |
16 |
11 |
.593 |
10 |
8 |
.556 |
t-4th | |
|
97-98 |
16 |
11 |
.593 |
11 |
9 |
.550 |
t-5th | |
|
98-99 |
16 |
12 |
.571 |
8 |
10 |
.444 |
t-6th | |
|
99-00 |
17 |
11 |
.607 |
10 |
8 |
.556 |
5th | |
|
00-01 |
18 |
13 |
.581 |
13 |
9 |
.591 |
4th | |
|
01-02 |
20 |
10 |
.667 |
16 |
6 |
.727 |
t-3rd | |
|
02-03 |
17 |
12 |
.586 |
12 |
10 |
.545 |
t-6th | |
|
03-04 |
18 |
11 |
.621 |
15 |
7 |
.682 |
t-2nd | |
|
04-05 |
30 |
6 |
.833 |
20 |
2 |
.909 |
1st | |
|
05-06 |
21 |
9 |
.700 |
17 |
5 |
.773 |
t-1st | |
|
06-07 |
32 |
1 |
.970 |
22 |
0 |
1.000 |
1st | |
|
07-08 |
34 |
1 |
.971 |
22 |
0 |
1.000 |
1st | |
|
08-09 |
26 |
7 |
.788 |
18 |
4 |
.818 |
1st | |
|
09-10 |
26 |
7 |
.788 |
17 |
5 |
.773 |
2nd | |
|
Totals |
390 |
178 |
.687 |
262 |
120 |
.686 |
| |
Kevin Bettencourt
Asst. Men's Basketball Coach
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Kevin Bettencourt, a 2006 graduate of Bucknell University and a former assistant coach at Salem State, is in his third year as an assistant men’s basketball coach at Bentley University after becoming a part of the program in 2008.
Bentley has posted consecutive 26-7 seasons in his first two years on the staff. In 2008-09, he helped Bentley to a fifth straight Northeast-10 regular season championship and the NCAA Division II Sweet 16. Last year’s club continued the success with a trip to the Elite Eight and a win over Augusta State in the national quarterfinals.
While at Bucknell, the Peabody native and resident was the 2003 Patriot League Rookie of the Year and a three-time second-team All-Patriot League selection. He was a two-year team captain and was chosen as the NCAA Chevrolet Player of the Game in NCAA tournament wins over both Kansas in 2005 and Arkansas the following year.
Bettencourt finished his career fourth in Bucknell history in scoring, with 1,577 points, and his 294 career three pointers is not only a Bison record, but the second most in Patriot League annals.
Bettencourt, who has worked Bentley’s summer camp annually since 2002, began his coaching career at his alma mater, Peabody High, during the 2006-07 season, serving as an assistant coach. From 2006-08, he was also a teacher at Peabody, where he is the program’s all-time leading scorer. Bettencourt moved into college coaching in 2007, helping Salem State to a 21-7 record and an NCAA tournament berth.
“Kevin is an excellent addition to our program and staff,” said Lawson when Bettencourt’s hiring was announced. “Though he’s new to the coaching profession, his successful basketball background as a player and leader should transfer quickly as he gains experience. He was a very smart and competitive player who already has an excellent vision of the game and now needs to build a similar foundation as a coach. We are very excited about his potential and look forward to assisting him as he makes the move from full-time teacher to full-time coach.”
Mark Wentworth
Asst. Men's Basketball Coach
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Mark Wentworth, now in his 12th year as an assistant coach, came to Bentley in 1999 with a lengthy coaching resume.
The 1979 graduate of the University of Rochester spent 18 years coaching at the high school level, including three as head boys coach at Needham High School (1996-99). Wentworth also served as the head boys coach at Hudson Catholic High School for three years (1991-94) and at Hudson High School for six (1985-91).
“We have an excellent staff and much of this is attributed to Mark’s contribution over the past decade,” praised Lawson. “He’s simply a great person who brings a high level of commitment and loyalty to anything he associates himself with. He also has a sharp basketball mind and a real aptitude to interact with young athletes. He’s a caring educator who has proven to be an invaluable asset to our program.”
Wentworth, 52, was a science teacher at Hudson Catholic from 1982-2009, the school’s vice principal the last 13 years, and served two tours of duty as the school’s girls softball coach (1988-93, 1997-2009). He now teaches at Catholic Memorial High School in West Roxbury.
Wentworth, who graduated from Abington High in 1975, still resides in his hometown.
