WALTHAM, Mass. – On Wednesday night, the Bentley University men's basketball team used a dominating second half to rally past Adelphi University for its seventh win in its last eight contests. A night earlier, a 79-70 win over Stonehill College gave American International College an identical 7-1 mark in its last eight.

One of those two teams will make it eight out of nine when the two hottest teams in the Northeast-10 Conference square off Saturday afternoon at the Dana Center. Tip-off is scheduled for 3:30 pm.

Bentley, 10-6 overall after winning 9 of its last 11, is still trying to dig itself out of a hole created by an early four-game losing streak incurred when the Falcons weren't at full strength due to injury.  Coach Jay Lawson's team, 5-5 in conference play, is tied for fifth in the NE-10's Northeast Division, two games in the loss column out of first and one out of third.

AIC has been playing well since the start of the season and will make the trip to Waltham with an 11-3 record, including a perfect 8-0 away from its home court. The Yellow Jackets are 6-2 in the NE-10, good for second in the Southwest Division, and own road wins over the two conference teams with at least 12 wins, Southern Connecticut State and New Haven.

During the current stretch of nine wins in 11 games, Bentley has turned in some impressive shooting numbers: .497 overall, .404 from three and .798 at the line. The usual five starters own a .511 field goal percentage over that time and senior forward Andrew Shaw (Saco, Maine/Thornton Academy) has come off the bench to average 10 points and shoot .586.

Junior forward Tyler McFarland (Rockport, Maine/Camden Hills HS), five points away from moving into the top 30 on Bentley's career scoring list, and senior guard Keegan Hyland (South Portland, Maine/South Portland HS) remain one of the most prolific scoring duos in the conference.

McFarland provides 19.3 points, 7.4 rebounds and 2.4 blocks a game with his career totals including 1,232 points and 93 blocks, fourth most in program history. His .487 percentage from three is second best in the NE-10 and is also identical to his career mark of .488.

Hyland is one of only three NE-10 players averaging at least 18 points, six rebounds and three assists, a distinction he shares with New Haven's Eric Anderson and Merrimack's Gelvis Solano.

Those two are joined in the starting five by senior guard JP Koury (Red Bank, N.J./CBA) and juniors Alex Furness (Wells, Maine/Wells HS) and Shaq Phelps (Linden, N.J./Linden HS). The five have been together at the start of six games with Bentley 5-1 in those with an averaging scoring margin of 6.7.

Koury averages 10.4 points and 1.9 steals, Furness has tallied 37 points in three January games and Phelps has produced 8.0 points and 5.3 rebounds a game this month.

Four players handle the large portion of the scoring for AIC including senior guard Bobby Harris, the only NE-10 player averaging at least 15 points, five rebounds, five assists and two steals. Harris, whose numbers include 81 assists and 34 steals, has a 15.2 scoring average, second to the 17.0 put up by senior forward Marcus Porter.

The six-foot-five Porter has put up 49 points and 21 rebounds in his past two games with 22 at Southern New Hampshire and 27, along with a season-best 11 boards, against Stonehill.

Juniors Cameron Dobbs and Trahmier Burrell, a pair of transfers, have also been significant contributors, averaging 14.6 and 13.4 points, respectively. Dobbs has a team-best 42 three-pointers and Burrell has been the leading rebounder (7.8).

Bentley's two-game homestand also includes a Wednesday encounter with 10-5 New Haven, a team the Falcons defeated earlier this season on the road.