North Alabama's first visit to the Elite Eight in 12 years turned out to be a pretty short trip.

Bentley, of the Northeast-10 conference and ranked No. 1 in the country in the final regular-season poll, ousted the Lions 102-92 in the quarterfinals at the MassMutual Center late Wednesday night.

UNA (27-9), which came from behind to win three regional tournament games last week in Florida, couldn't rally against a hot-shooting Bentley team that made 54.8 percent of its shots.

Bentley lost in the first round here last year, but atoned for that loss and became the first team from its conference to win a game.

Thomas Fraise led Alabama with 25 points and Kenny Johnson scored 18. Casey Holt closed out his career with 15 points and six rebounds. In the process, Holt set a single-season record for points.

Jason Westrol led Bentley (34-0) with 26 points. He was one of six Falcons in double figures.

UNA coach Bobby Champagne was disappointed that the Lions couldn't stick around longer in the Elite Eight, but said the loss didn't put a damper on an otherwise excellent season.

"It's been a great season," he said. "I told the guys in the locker room that if anybody judges our season on tonight's performance, then that person is missing the boat because they have been great all season long. To win 27 games and win a regional championship on the road, we've had a great season.

"Whether we got beat tonight or won, it all wasn't going to change how I feel about these guys."

UNA matched Bentley shot for shot for the first 10 minutes. The Lions led 21-19 before Bentley began to assert itself. Bentley used a 10-0 run late in the half to take a 41-29 lead and the Lions were never able to cut it under eight the rest of the way.

"Hats off to Bentley, they beat the best team in the tournament tonight," UNA's Thomas Fraise said.

Gregg Dewalt can be reached at 740-5748 or gregg.dewalt@timesdaily.com.