WALTHAM, Mass. – With its playoff seeding very much up in the air, the Bentley University men's basketball team will close out the regular season Tuesday night at UMass-Lowell, with tip-off slated for 7:30 pm. Links for live stats and video will be posted at www.bentleyfalcons.com.

The Falcons (15-10, 11-10 NE-10) can finish as high as a tie for fourth place with a win, or could be as low as a multiple-team tie for eighth place with a loss. The outcome will also have a significant impact on UMass-Lowell, which would lock up a first-round bye and a possible quarterfinal home game with a win, or with a loss, could have to play a first-round game depending on the tiebreaker.

Heading into the final set of games, all of which have the potential to affect playoff seeding, just two games separate the teams from fourth to 11th in the standings.  The number of teams that will qualify for the playoffs was reduced to ten this season, and there is the potential as many as five could finish at 12-10, or as many as six could wind up at 11-11.

A Bentley win, or a loss by either New Haven (at Saint Rose), Assumption (at AIC) or Saint Anselm (at Stonehill),would lock up a playoff berth for the Falcons.  Should Bentley lose, and each of those clubs win on the road, it would come down to the conference's interpretation of the tie-breaker which team would be on the outside looking in.

However things shake out, the playoffs will begin on Friday with the teams seeded seventh through tenth playing first-round games.  The top six will play Sunday afternoon with the top four (Adelphi, Franklin Pierce, Stonehill and one to be determined) hosting.

 Bentley features the backcourt tandem of senior Sam Leclerc (Fayette, Maine/Winthrop HS) and sophomore Jasper Grassa (Lynn/Lynn Classical HS), a duo who have combined for 141 three-pointers, more than three teams in the NE-10 have in total.

Grassa is tied for the NE-10 lead in threes with 75, the most by a Falcon since Tim Forbes had 79 during the 2005-06 season.  Leclerc has connected on 66 from downtown, the fourth highest total in the conference.  In addition, the NE-10 top ten also includes freshman forward Andrew Shaw (Saco, Maine/ Thornton Academy), who has dropped 55 three-balls through the net.

Leclerc, who is third in the conference in free throws (99) in addition to being number four in three-pointers, tops the Falcons in scoring at 15.5 per game.  Despite being only six-foot-one, he's fourth in the NE-10 in defensive rebounds with his overall average of 6.3 a team best.

Grassa follows with a 14.2 scoring norm, and Shaw, who made his first collegiate start Saturday against Stonehill, has given Bentley 10.5 points a game in his rookie season.

Bentley will be looking to turn the tables on UMass-Lowell after the River Hawks came into the Dana Center back on Nov. 16 and pulled out a 57-55 victory.

UMass-Lowell (16-9, 11-9 NE-10) has been streaky this season. The River Hawks started 4-0, lost four of their next six, and after winning 10 of 11 from Dec. 31 to Feb. 4, have dropped their last four. The most recent came Saturday when NE-10 Player of the Week Ellis Cooper hit a tie-breaking three-pointer for Franklin Pierce in the final second.

Like Bentley, the River Hawks rely heavily upon the three-pointer with their 213 trifectas second only to the Falcons' 259. Senior guard Dipanjot Singh is third in the NE-10 in accuracy from downtown, hitting at a 45 percent clip with 51 makes, and six-foot-six junior Matt Welch has a team-best 54 treys.  They are averaging 13.5 and 11.7 points, respectively.

UMass-Lowell's top scorer is sophomore guard Akeem Williams. He had 25 against the Falcons in the earlier meeting and is averaging 17 points, third best in the conference.