WALTHAM, Mass. – After putting up 73 points in the last two games with mixed results, the Bentley University Falcons will reach the midpoint of the season Saturday afternoon when they take on visiting Southern Connecticut State. Kickoff on the Bentley Football Field is set for 2 pm and like all conference games, can be viewed on the NE10 NOW digital network.

Bentley, 1-3 overall and 1-1 Northeast-10, will be looking to bounce back from a 45-42 overtime loss to Assumption College that saw the Falcons erase a 28-point deficit in the final 16 minutes of regulation. That came a week after the Falcons opened their home schedule with a 31-14 win over NE10 preseason favorite New Haven with a run of 24 unanswered points.

The difficult loss marked the third time this season that the outcome was still in doubt with less than two minutes to play. Opening week saw Bentley fall to nationally-ranked West Chester on a TD with 23 seconds left and the Falcons had the ball with under two minutes remaining in a 28-23 loss at American International.

Southern Connecticut has also tasted victory just once, that coming last Saturday when the Owls scored 28 first-quarter points and cruised to a 55-27 win over Franklin Pierce. Southern Connecticut, which held three of their first four opponents to 19 points or less, comes into Waltham at 1-4 overall and 1-3 conference.

Bentley amassed a season-high 414 yards total offense against Assumption with junior QB Stephen Sturm (Collegeville, Pa./Perkiomen Valley HS) completing 21 of 38 for 293 yards and three TDs. After a rough second quarter in which he was picked off three times, he was 13 of 18 for 205 yards in the second half.

Two of his receivers topped the century mark in yardage against the Greyhounds with senior Drew Mahoney (West Suffield, Conn./Suffield Academy) pulling in 10 balls for 104 yards and sophomore Noah Neville (Boston/Newton North HS) catching five for 120, with two TDs.

For the season, Sturm is among the Division II leaders in completions per game (22.8) and he's second in the conference in passing yards (893) and completion percentage (.615).

He has a talented group of receiver, led by Mahoney, the NCAA Division II leader in catches per game (10.0). Mahoney's 40 receptions have been good for 394 yards and two scores. Junior Austin Ryan (Foxborough/Foxborough HS) has 20 for 170 yards and Neville has 13 for 188.

On the ground, senior Jordan Artope (Cortlandt Manor, N.Y./Hendrick Hudson HS) has scored two TDs in three straight games. Junior Andrew Brazicki (Franklin Park, N.J./St. Thomas Aquinas HS) has rushed for a team-best 266 yards, with a per carry norm of 5.2, and Artope follows with 159.

Sophomore Isaiah Collins (Dorchester Center/Belmont Hill), the reigning Special Teams Player of the Week in the conference, has three kickoff returns of at least 50 yards the last two weeks, including a school-record 97-yarder for a TD that ignited the comeback at Assumption.

Junior linebacker Marc Doran (Ramsey, N.J./Saint Joseph Reg. HS) is the leading tackler for a defense that has nine takeaways but failed to come up with at least one for the first time in 16 games on Saturday. He has 31 stops, including 19 the last two weeks.

Senior defensive back Pete Thorbahn (Norwell/Xaverian Brothers HS) follows with 23, pushing his career total to 212. His 14 career interceptions, including one this season, is tied for third most among active Division II players.

Southern Connecticut is one of the leaders in the NE10 in defense, limiting the opponents to 298.8 yards, 22 points and 16.4 first downs a game. The Owls have 11 sacks, including three from junior linebacker Vance Upham and 2.5 from sophomore linebacker Rich Souffrant, and three blocked kicks.

Sixth-year head coach Tom Godek has started freshman Jackson Ostrowsky at quarterback the last two weeks. He's averaged 274.5 yards per game while completing 41 of 70 with four TD and two interceptions.

Freshman Jonmichael Bivona, the NE10 Freshman of the Week, leads the team in rushing with 321 yards and three TD. He's had at least 70 yards in three of five games. Receiving threats including Julian Cheng, with 23 for 342 yards, and Izaiah Sanders, with 22 for 302.

Last year, Bentley claimed a 24-22 win over Southern when the Owls' two-point conversion attempt with 2:06 to play failed. The Falcons trailed 16-0 at intermission before Seamus Leary sparked a second-half rally with a TD run and pass. That was the third time in the last four meetings the teams played a game decided by three points or less.

Next Saturday, Bentley will play on the road for the fourth time in six games, this time at Stonehill College. Due to the EEE threat, the time was switched to 1 pm.