WALTHAM, Mass. – The Bentley University men's basketball team will be playing for at least a share of the Northeast-10 Conference Northeast Division title when its closes out the regular season with a 7:30 pm home game against Merrimack College Tuesday night. A webcast will be available at www.bentleyfalcons.tv.

After a 103-82 loss to Saint Anselm College on Saturday, the Falcons are even with Saint Anselm at the top of the division standings, each with 15-5 conference records. The Hawks will also be in action Tuesday, playing at crosstown rival Southern New Hampshire. It appears that Bentley would need to win and have Saint Anselm lose to gain the top seed as the tie-breaker favors the Hawks.

Merrimack (15-11, 10-10 NE-10) will come into Waltham looking to secure a playoff berth with the Warriors currently in sixth. The only way they'll be able to continue their season is by winning against the Falcons, having Franklin Pierce lose to Assumption and have Stonehill finish above Southern New Hampshire in the standings.

Bentley, 18-7 overall, is led by the veteran triumvirate of Tyler McFarland (Rockport, Maine/Camden Hills HS), Keegan Hyland (South Portland, Maine/South Portland HS) and Alex Furness (Wells, Maine/Wells HS). The trio has combined for 57 points a game this season while connecting a total of 188 times from downtown.

McFarland, number two in the NE-10 in scoring at 22.7 a game, became Bentley's third 2,000-point scorer on Saturday with a top-of-the-key three-pointer. One of seven active Division II players who have reached 2,000, he finished the day with 2,007, and trails only Bill Holden '90 (2,103) and Jason Westrol '10 (2,056) in Bentley history.

Hyland combines with McFarland to give the Falcons two of the NE-10's four 20-point scorers with the 2015 CoSIDA Academic All-America® averaging 20.6 points overall and 26.6 over the last nine. He's one of only three NE-10 players who is shooting at least .520 overall and .420 from three-point land.

Furness, the 52nd and newest member of Bentley's 1,000-point club, will enter his final regular season game with a 13.8 scoring average and a .476 accuracy mark from outside the three-point line. In home games, he owns shooting percentages of .522 overall, .545 from three and .903 from the foul stripe.

Sophomore forward Brandon Wheeler (Stamford, Conn./Trinity Catholic HS) has had at least five rebounds in ten straight games, a stretch in which he's averaged seven along with posting a .553 field goal percentage.

Bentley's 86.3 scoring average is its best in 20 years and the Falcons are currently 15th nationally in three-pointers, knocking down 10.7 a game.

Merrimack, which also has three seniors as its top three scorers, has won four of its last five and is 7-3 since mid-January with two of the losses coming in overtime. Coach Bert Hammel's team has won five of its last seven road games, including a 91-84 victory at Stonehill a couple weeks ago.

Guard Gelvis Solano, one of five players in Merrimack history with 2,000, kept his team's NE-10 playoff chances alive when he buried a buzzer-beating 25-footer Saturday for a 69-66 win over Franklin Pierce. He's averaging 19.1 points, 6.1 rebounds and 1.9 steals.

Guard Troy Hammel, nephew of his coach and son of former Bentley All-America Brian Hammel '75, has had an impressive shooting season with his average standing at 17.3 JT Strickland, a four-year starter with 1,300 career points, follows at 14.8 points per game.

When these two clubs met three months ago, Bentley escaped the Volpe Center with a 77-75 victory on the strength of Furness' second career game-winner over Merrimack, this one a three-ball from the right side with 2.5 seconds left. Hyland powered the Falcons with 23 points, 13 rebounds and five assists while Solano scored 28 for the Warriors.

The Northeast-10 championships will get underway with first-round play on Friday. Bentley will have a bye into Sunday's quarterfinals.