WALTHAM, Mass. – Two men's basketball teams who opened their season with a pair of convincing wins in the Bentley Tip-Off Classic over the weekend, Bentley University and Merrimack College, will square off at Merrimack's Hammel Court Wednesday night in the Northeast-10 Conference opener for both clubs.

Both teams faced Concordia College (N.Y.) and Caldwell University in the tournament with Bentley prevailing by an average of 21.5 points and Merrimack winning its two by 19 a game. The Warriors had the higher scoring offense (99.0 to 91.0) while the Falcons had the stingier defense (69.5 to 78.0).

Bentley shot very well (a Division II-best .598 overall and .447 from three), took twice as many free throws (50-25) and finished the weekend with a +11.0 rebound margin. Merrimack connected on 49 percent of its long-distance shots, making 12 a game.

The two teams also topped the Northeast-10 coaches' poll with Bentley receiving more points (86-83) and Merrimack more first-place votes (4-3).

Bentley senior forward Tyler McFarland (Rockport, Maine/Camden Hills HS) will head into Wednesday's contest five points away from becoming the 13th 1,500-point scorer in program history. He averaged 27.5 points over the weekend, including 33 against Caldwell, while moving from 18th to a tie for 13th on the Falcons' all-time scoring list.

Also giving the Falcons double figures in the scoring column during the weekend were junior guard Ferguson Duke (Dartmouth, N.S./Hun School (N.J.)) (12.5 ppg, .727 fg pct), senior guard Alex Furness (Wells, Maine/Wells HS) (11.0, .643) and freshman forward Kyle Bouchard (Houlton, Maine/ Houlton HS) (10.0, .750).

Merrimack senior guard Gelvis Solano, last year's leading scorer in the NE-10, picked up where he left off by averaging 20 points, 8.5 rebounds and 4.5 assists. Troy Hammel, also a senior guard and the nephew of coach Bert Hammel, drained five of eight from deep to put up 15.5 a game, and freshman Ryan Boulter buried eight triples in his first two collegiate games.

JT Strickland, yet another senior guard, averaged nearly a double-double during the opening weekend, giving the Warriors 12.5 points and 9.5 assists a game.

Bentley and Merrimack split last year with each prevailing on its home court. McFarland powered the Falcons with 21.5 points per game while Hammel scored a total of 48 points against his father's alma mater.

Bentley will also be on the road for its next three, including a 2 pm Saturday game at the University of Bridgeport.