WALTHAM, Mass. – As it has annually for the past eight seasons, the Bentley University men's basketball team will open the new year by hosting a Tip-Off Classic at the Dana Center Saturday and Sunday.

Coach Jay Lawson's club, which has won six straight season openers, will make its 2017-18 debut Saturday at 7:30 pm against an opponent it has never faced, Georgian Court University.

The Bentley-Georgian Court match-up will be the nightcap of an opening night doubleheader. Prior to the Falcons taking the court for the start of Lawson's 27th season, Saint Anselm College will meet up with Concordia University (N.Y.) at 5:30 pm.

On Sunday, the two Northeast-10 teams will trade opponents with Saint Anselm taking on Georgian Court at 3:30 pm and Bentley facing Concordia at 5:30 pm.

For the first time in a quarter-century, Bentley enters a season with three players who averaged at least 12 points a game during the previous season. The triumvirate of junior guard Ryan Richmond (Toronto, Ont./Thompson Collegiate), junior forward Zach Gilpin (Hampden, Maine/Hampden Academy) and senior forward Brandon Wheeler (Stamford, Conn./Trinity Catholic HS) are also one of only three returning trios in the NE10 who each scored at least 12 last year.

Richmond established himself as one of the elite scorers in the conference last year when he posted the third highest single season average in program history, 22.6. He averaged 27.5 a game over the final ten, a stretch in which he shot 52 percent overall and 46 percent from three, and finished the season with a school record 45 at Adelphi in the opening round of the NE10 championship tournament.

Gilpin emerged as an offensive threat last season before an injury ended his season in early February. He started ten games midseason and in that role, gave the Falcons 17.3 points a game.

Wheeler was sixth in the conference in rebounds last year, his 8.8 average the best by a Falcon since Brian Tracey in 2010. He totaled 11 double-doubles and scored 12.4 a game with a .565 field goal percentage inside the three-point line.

Bentley's list of nine returnees also included junior forward Kyle Bouchard (Houlton, Maine/ Houlton HS), a starter early in the season and again late after Gilpin was sidelined. He averaged 5.5 points and 3.7 rebounds while also contributing 18 steals and 13 blocks.

Forward Chris Hudson (Hodgdon, Maine/Williston Northampton) and guard Seth Stankiewicz (Reading, Pa./Hill School) both showed promise as freshmen last winter, and Matt Turkington (Cromwell, Conn./Cromwell HS), now a senior, saw his first significant playing time as a Falcon, appearing in 21 games.

The roster has been bolstered by the addition of a promising freshman class that includes freshmen guards Jordan Mello-Klein (Sharon/Thayer Academy), Colton Lawrence (Myerstown, Pa./ELCO HS), along with six-foot-six freshman Pete Blust (Hinsdale, Ill./Hinsdale Central HS).

Georgian Court, which struggled through a one-win season last year, returns six players, including the top four scorers, and has bolstered the roster with ten newcomers. Six-foot-ten sophomore Nikola Vujovic is coming off a strong rookie season, one in which he averaged 12.1 points and 4.7 rebounds. Also among the returnees for second-year head coach Terrence Stewart is junior guard Juwuan Carter, who averaged 10.8 points and 5.9 rebounds.

Concordia, 10-18 last season, has four of its top five scorers back, a list headed by junior forward Stephen Milhaven. He scored a team-high 16.5 a game and was also second on the team in rebounds at 8.6. Coach Brian Sondey will also be able to look to junior guard Cedrick McFadden (12.1), senior guard Elijah Brown (10.4) and six-seven senior Justyn Garder (9.6) for offense. Milhaven, McFadden and Brown all have three-point range, each connecting on at least 30 last year.

Saint Anselm, who the Falcons won't play until Dec. 9, returns three guards who combined for 50 points a game and a total of 204 three-pointers last year. Junior Tim Guers tops that list at 21.7, senior Taylor Fortin follows at 15.2 and junior Cody Ball is coming off a season he scored 13.2 a game.  All three made at least 67 threes for coach Keith Dickson's team.

The Tip-Off tournament will be the start of a three-game season-opening homestand for Bentley, which will host Stonehill Wednesday in its conference opener.