Bentley College will represent the Rugby Northeast Conference in the national Men’s DII College playoffs after beating a brave UMass-Lowell 29-27 in overtime.

Lowell took an early lead thanks to tries from Matt Charest and Mike Kiernan, but Bentley tied the game up by halftime. One of those comeback tries came from prop and co-captain Jonathan Mancini, who also touched down early in the second half to put Bentley up 19-12.

But Lowell, who lost by 30 to Bentley earlier in the season, wouldn’t go away. A UMass-Lowell try made it 19-17, and after Logan Reich scored for Bentley, Lowell pressured, and got a penalty try to tie the game 24-24 at full time.

So on to overtime. Bentley scored early in the overtime period, and held on. Charest added a penalty, but that elusive winning try proved too elusive for Lowell.

Bentley moves on to the national playoffs, where they will take on Wisconsin-Illinois champs Wisconsin-Whitewater.