WALTHAM, Mass. – In their final game before a 17-day break, the Bentley University Falcons will look to keep its Northeast-10 Conference record perfect when it makes a visit to St. Michael's College Saturday. Tip-off at the Ross Sports Center is set for 3:30 pm with a free webcast available at www.smcathletics.tv

Bentley, off to a 7-2 start, is a perfect 5-0 in the NE-10 with a one-game lead in the loss column over both Saint Anselm and Stonehill. Both losses so far this season have come on the road, including a 77-61 blemish at Holy Family in the team's last trip.

St. Michael's, which was hit hard by graduation after last season, is at the opposite end of the spectrum from the experienced Falcons with the Purple Knights 1-7 overall and winless in five conference games. In their first three December games, they've been outscored by an average of 25 points in losses to Merrimack, Stonehill and nationally-ranked Southern Connecticut State.

Senior All-Northeast-10 forward Tyler McFarland (Rockport, Maine/Camden Hills HS), who gave the Falcons an overtime win three years ago in his first visit to St. Michael's, will return to the Ross Sports Center on the brink of moving into the top five scorers in Bentley history. Currently seventh with 1,667, he needs two to pass Al Grenfell '75 for sixth and four to take over fifth from Todd Orlando '84.

McFarland, the reigning NE-10 Player of the Week, has been on a tear  for the Falcons. He lead the NE-10 with a 25.2 scoring average after scoring 26 or more in five of his last six games. He had 16 points in the first 6:30 of the second half during an 86-78 win over Saint Anselm Dec. 2 and the same number in the first ten minutes of a 92-77 victory over Southern New Hampshire Wednesday.

McFarland isn't the only offensive weapon that 25-year head coach Jay Lawson can call upon. Guards Keegan Hyland (South Portland, Maine/South Portland HS) and Alex Furness (Wells, Maine/ Wells HS) are both averaging over 19 points and shooting at least 60 percent in conference games, and are over 15 ppg overall.

Also averaging in double-figures is junior guard Ferguson Duke (Dartmouth, N.S./Hun School (N.J.)), who has made 52 percent of his three-pointers while putting up 10.9 points a game.

As a team, Bentley has shot .532 overall this year, ranking second nationally in Division II in that category.            

St. Michael's, which has prevailed in six of the last eight meetings with the Falcons, features junior forward Matt Bonds, the NE-10's leading rebounder and one of only two players in the conference averaging a double-double. He's giving his team 17.5 points and 11 rebounds a game and is coming off a 24-point, 11-rebound effort Thursday against Southern Connecticut.

Freshman guard Levi Holmes III and senior guard Greg Grippo both make at least two three-pointers a game and will bring averages of 12.8 and 11.0, respectively, into Saturday's contest.

Three-pointers have not been a forte for St. Michael's with the Purple Knights shooting only 35 percent from deep and ranking 14th in the conference in threes made (6.8).

Following Saturday, Bentley will be off until a Dec. 30 home game against Molloy College.