It's not essential but almost always, success in the Northeast-10 Men's Basketball Conference is dependent on experience, and that is something that the 2015-16 Bentley University Falcons are fortunate to have.

Coach Jay Lawson, now in his 25th season directing the Falcons' fortunes, has a dozen players back from last year's club that finished a disappointing 15-12. It was an up-and-down season with a 13-3 run in the middle sandwiched around a 1-4 start and a 1-5 finish (which included two one-point road losses to close out the schedule).

"On paper, we have what all programs look forward to," said Lawson, a five-time Northeast-10 Coach of the Year. "Nine juniors and seniors of high character who are highly committed to achieving team success.  A group our coaching staff has great trust and confidence in. 

"Though this guarantees little, it does give us a strong level of maturity and experience as we attempt to achieve something special this year," continued the long-time coach. "Ultimately we'll be measured by our ability to build a tough minded, disciplined and intelligent team that can consistently play well night in and night out regardless of the challenges we face."

Opposing coaches have high expectations for the veterans – they deemed the Falcons the preseason favorite in the Northeast Division of the NE-10, although the voting was very close with first-place votes distributed among five teams.

The returning unit includes a pair of 2015 All-Northeast-10 selections in Tyler McFarland (Rockport, Maine/Camden Hills HS) and Keegan Hyland (South Portland, Maine/South Portland HS), as well as four others with over 40 games of collegiate experience. Returnees accounted for 79 percent of the points, 78 percent of the rebounds, 80 percent of the assists and 75 percent of the minutes.

GUARDS

The presence of Hyland, a CoSIDA Academic All-America a year ago, and senior Alex Furness (Wells, Maine/Wells HS) gives Bentley proven experience as well as size in the backcourt. Furness has 59 career starts under his belt, with the Falcons 35-24 in those contests, while Hyland has started the team's last 30.

Hyland, a standout in the classroom as well as on the court, was fifth in the conference in scoring last winter when he put up a combination of numbers never before achieved in 50+ years of Bentley basketball. He averaged 19 points, 6.9 rebounds and 3.6 rebounds while connecting 66 times from deep and also getting to the line 110 times.

 "Keegan has clearly established himself as one of our conference's top offensive weapons," praised Lawson. "We'll now look for him to emerge as a more complete player who can consistently impact the game and lead his team and in a variety of positive ways."

Furness, one of the taller guards in Division II basketball at six-six, handled a large share of the point guard chores last year. Sidelined by injury a significant portion of the season's first half, he gave the team 10.5 points and 3.8 rebounds a game during the final 13 contests with a two-point field goal percentage of .536.

 "As a senior, Alex will move to the wing and we're confident this will put him in position to have a bigger impact on the games at the offensive end," said Lawson. "He is also our best perimeter defender and we'll continue to need his ability and leadership to play a prominent role at that end of the court."

Junior Ferguson Duke (Dartmouth, N.S./Hun School) doubled his playing time last year and will likely be called upon to play a larger role this season. As a sophomore playing 20 minutes a game, he produced 5.7 points, 2.7 rebounds and about two assists per contest.

"We'll now use Fergus exclusively at the ball handling position in an effort to take full advantage of his strengths as an athlete and team oriented player.  He has the ability to make plays in every phase of the game and now it's a matter of him growing into a consistent floor leader who we can count on day in and day out. "

Junior Matt Barr (Stratham, N.H./Cushing Academy) and freshman Ryan Richmond (Toronto, Ont./ Thompson Collegiate HS) have impressed during the preseason and their presence will strengthen the Falcons' backcourt contingent.

 "Matt is healthy again which is good news for our program as he plays both ends of the floor with high level of energy," Lawson commented. "He and Fergus create a good mature ball handling tandem that can give our team an aggressive personality.

"Ryan is a talented guard who will get thrown into the fire right away. He's a threatening offensive player who can both score and make plays for other people."

Further perimeter depth can come from junior Chris Murray (Littleton/Littleton HS) and sophomore Brandon Wheeler (Stamford, Conn./Trinity Catholic HS).

"Chris and Brandon are two veteran players who will challenge for playing time on the perimeter.  Chris is a combo guard with excellent awareness and leadership skills, and Brandon is a swing player capable of playing both guard and forward."

FORWARDS

McFarland, twice a second-team All-Northeast-10 selection and the second highest returning scorer in the conference (19.1 ppg), has led the Falcons in both scoring and rebounds each of the last three seasons, a feat never before achieved by a Bentley basketball player. The six-foot-five forward owns career averages of 17.6 points and 7.5 rebounds, and is already up to 18th on the program's all-time scoring list, beginning the year at 1,440.

McFarland is also one of the most efficient shooters in Division II nationally, owning an eFG% of .559. During his first three years, his accuracy rates stand at nearly 50 percent overall, 47 from deep and 86 from the line. 

 "In so many ways, Tyler has been the anchor of our team the past three years while also establishing himself as one of the conference's most productive scorers and rebounders," praised Lawson. "Similar to Keegan, we'll now look for Tyler to add to that by playing a more prominent role as the complete player and team leader he's capable of being."

Shaq Phelps (Linden, N.J./Linden HS), another senior forward, was one of five who appeared in every game last season, starting 20. He shot 56 percent inside the arc while giving the Falcons 6.7 points and about four rebounds a game.

"Unfortunately, Shaq displaced his knee cap in early September and has been on the shelf for several weeks as he works his way back to basketball," said Lawson. "Though the recovery takes time, we anticipate a healthy return and this is certainly positive news.  His mobility and skill at the forward position makes us a more versatile team at both ends of the floor."

Phelps' early season absence will necessitate others stepping up, with freshman Kyle Bouchard (Houlton, Maine/Houlton HS), Wheeler and freshman Zachary Gilpin (Hampden, Maine/Hampden Academy) all competing in the spot in the rotation.

"With Shakir out, these three have all showed positive development during the preseason and early practices," said Lawson. "Kyle is a competitive playmaker with good awareness. Brandon can match-up with a variety of opponents and Zach is a fluid offensive player who can score the ball."

Additional frontcourt depth will be provided by senior Vince Mancini (Salt Lake City, Utah/Judge Memorial Catholic HS) and junior Tyler Gibson (Rockland/Rockland HS). Mancini saw limited action in a dozen games last year, and Gibson appeared in six contests.

"Both play with a high motor and bring a consistent energy and physical presence to the court," said Lawson.

SCHEDULE/CONFERENCE

With 21 conference games in the nation's most competitive Division II leagues, there are no off nights during the course of the season. The schedule includes nine contests against 2015 NCAA Division II tournament teams, with five of those on the road, and another away game against a 20-game winner that didn't make the regional.

"As always, we have a very challenging schedule from beginning to end and our team is certainly well aware of this going in," said Lawson. "However, this presents a terrific opportunity to achieve if we build a resilient team that can consistently play well."

FREE WEBCASTS

Bentley University has partnered with Pack Network this year and live free webcasts will be available for all of our home games at www.bentleyfalcons.tv. Most of our road games will also be webcast, with many of those free as well.