WALTHAM, Mass. – The Bentley University men's basketball team will look to make it a 3-0 homestand and remain unbeaten in Northeast-10 Conference action when it hosts Franklin Pierce University Wednesday at the Dana Center. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 pm with a free webcast available at www.bentleyfalcons.tv.

The homestand has started out on an impressive note as coach Jay Lawson's club has handed Saint Anselm College its only loss so far this season, 86-78, and topped defending NCAA Division II East Regional champion Southern New Hampshire, 83-77.

The two wins have boosted the Falcons to 6-2 overall and 4-0 in the NE-10, good for a half-game lead over both Saint Anselm and Stonehill.

Bentley won't have an easy task in front of them as Franklin Pierce will come into the Dana Center owning records of 4-2 overall and 3-1 NE-10. Both losses came on the road to teams that are currently 7-1, Philadelphia in overtime and Stonehill.

The game presents an interesting contrast as Bentley's sparkling .532 field goal percentage is third best nationally in Division II and Franklin Pierce has the NE-10's best field goal percentage defense at.396.  The Falcons have finished with a field goal percentage over .600 three times already this season, including .625 in the SNHU game, but have allowed the opponents to shoot at least 50 percent in three of the last five.

Bentley's top five in terms of minutes played, which also happens to be the most recent starting five, are all shooting 52 percent or better thus far this season. Senior forward and reigning NE-10 Spalding Player of the Week Tyler McFarland (Rockport, Maine/Camden Hills HS) leads the way at .567 and junior guard Ferguson Duke (Dartmouth, N.S./Hun School (N.J.)) is right behind him at .563, including a .536 accuracy mark from deep.

Senior guard Alex Furness (Wells, Maine/Wells HS) has connected at a 54 percent success rate overall and has also made 47 percent of his three-pointers. Grad student and Academic All-America Keegan Hyland (South Portland, Maine/South Portland HS) is up to 52 percent after a 10-for-14 effort against SNHU. Sophomore Brandon Wheeler (Stamford, Conn./Trinity Catholic HS), a recent addition to the starting unit, is at .654 with 17 baskets in 25 attempts.

McFarland leads the Northeast-10 in scoring (24.9) and continues to climb on the program's all-time scoring list, needing just 33 more to crack the top five. Hyland has averaged 20 points in conference games and Furness nearly matches that, at 19.3. Duke, over his last four, has produced 12.3 points to raise his season norm to 10.9.

Franklin Pierce also has four double-figure scorers with three of the four owning three-point percentages of .500: six-foot-eight sophomore Mike McDevitt (10-20), junior guard Mike Banton (16-32) and senior guard Tyler Iacuone (14-28).The Ravens are one of six NE-10 teams currently making at least 10 three-pointers a game, a group that also includes Bentley.

McDevitt leads the Ravens in scoring at 14.8, putting him just ahead of junior guard Donte Gittens (14.5). Gittens leads the team in assists as well as blocks, with his 2.3 rejection average second best in the NE-10. Iacuone owns a 12.3 scoring average and Banton gives the Ravens 10.7 a game off the bench.

Bentley, which won't play another game at home until Dec. 30, will be up in Vermont Saturday to take on St. Michael's, the team's final contest before hosting Molloy on the penultimate day of 2015.