WALTHAM, Mass. – After closing out a 4-4 month of January on a disappointing note, the Bentley University men's basketball team will launch the regular season's final month Saturday with a 3:30 pm home game against Assumption College at the Dana Center (www.bentleyfalcons.tv).

It'll be an interesting month in the Northeast-10 Conference with Bentley, Southern New Hampshire (next Wednesday's opponent) and Stonehill all tied for third in the Northeast Division with 8-7 conference records.  Knocking on the door to crack the top five and gain a playoff berth is Franklin Pierce, at 6-9), which upended Saint Anselm earlier in the week.

Bentley brings an 11-9 record into the new month after falling to Stonehill on the road earlier in the week, 74-70. The Falcons, down seven with 28 seconds, closed to within two on a couple occasions but couldn't get any closer.

Assumption will come into the Dana looking to end a five-game losing streak this season and a six-game slide in the series with the Falcons. The Hounds are 6-15 overall, including 2-13 NE10, following a 76-66 road loss to Merrimack Wednesday.

Three-point shooting is normally an asset for the Falcons with their .391 accuracy mark from deep fourth best in the NE10. That number took a hit on Wednesday when Bentley hit only 3 of 21 against Stonehill, the second time this season the Falcons have made that few against the Skyhawks. Putting the number in perspective, coach Jay Lawson's club has averaged 9.4 treys in their other 18 games.

Four of Bentley's top six have connected at a .427 clip of better from three with sophomore guard Seth Stankiewicz (Reading, Pa./Hill School) (37/73, .507) and freshman guard Jordan Mello-Klein (Sharon/Thayer Academy) (16/32, .500) the most accurate. Forwards Chris Hudson (Hodgson, Maine/ Northampton Williston School) (35/82, .427) and Zach Gilpin (Hampden, Maine/Hampden Academy) (35/82, .427) follow, and junior guard Ryan Richmond (Toronto, Ont./Thomson Collegiate) has shot 42 percent from distance in home games.

Richmond, who is tied with Stankiewicz for the team-high in triples, leads the Falcons in scoring with his 22.4 average fourth best in the NE10. He had 23 against Stonehill, the eighth time in the last nine games he's had at least 20.

Hudson has averaged 14.6 points with a .585 field goal percentage over the last ten games, raising his season norm to 11.9, along with 6.3 rebounds. In between Richmond and Hudson on the scoring list is Gilpin at 12.3.

Senior forward Brandon Wheeler (Stamford, Conn./Trinity Catholic HS), the team's top rebounder, is coming off a solid effort at Stonehill, with 12 points, nine rebounds and two blocks.

Assumption comes into Saturday's game as the lowest scoring team in the NE10, averaging just 66.4 despite making nearly nine three-pointers a game. They've been outrebounded by more than three a game and turn the ball over 2.5 times more on average than their opponent.

It's a young team with only three juniors and no seniors on the roster. Sophomore guard Branislaw Vujadinovic leads the team in scoring at 14.6, freshman guard Matthew Kelly follows at 13.4 and both have connected 47 times from downtown. Joe Sullivan, a six-foot-five sophomore, is a force on the offensive boards with his 59 third most in the conference.

In the first meeting this season, a game played in Worcester just before Thanksgiving, Bentley dominated the second half (50-28) to prevail 82-58. Richmond led the way with 25 points, five rebounds and six assists, and the Falcons doubled the Hounds on the boards, 44-22.

Next week's schedule has Bentley on the road twice, at Southern New Hampshire Wednesday in a game that will be televised by Fox College Sports and at Saint Anselm Saturday.

The time for the Merrimack home game on Saturday, Feb. 17, has been changed with the tip now set for 2 pm.