RINDGE, N.H. – On a night where his team buried 14 of its first 15 shots, Bentley University junior guard Ryan Richmond (Toronto, Ont./Thomson Collegiate) poured in a season-high 39 points to lead the Falcons to a 97-82 win over Franklin Pierce University in Northeast-10 Conference men's basketball Tuesday evening at the Franklin Pierce Fieldhouse.

The win, coupled with Stonehill's loss at Saint Anselm, gave the Falcons the third seed out of the Northeast-10's Northeast Division and a first-round bye in the upcoming conference championships. Bentley, 15-11 overall and 12-9 in the NE10 after posting its third straight win, will play a quarterfinal game at Saint Rose Sunday at 3 pm.

Both teams came out of the gate on fire with Bentley drilling ten of its first 11 shots and Franklin Pierce nearly matching that success rate, eight of 11.

While the Ravens tailed off, the Falcons remained hot, scoring the next nine to open their first double-digit lead of the night, 30-20 with 11:54 still left on the first quarter clock. Richmond had five of the nine and senior forward Brandon Wheeler (Stamford, Conn./Trinity Catholic HS) the other four, including a breakaway dunk after a steal.

That 9-0 run grew to 24-8 and the lead to 45-28 after a pair of three-pointers from sophomore guard Seth Stankiewicz (Reading, Pa./Hill School). At that point in the game, Bentley was a ridiculous 19 of 23 from the field with five three-pointers.

Following a 24-point first half by Richmond, Bentley went into the break in front by 17, 57-40. At that juncture, Richmond was 10 of 13 overall and four of five from downtown.

The Falcons came out of intermission with an 8-2 burst, half of those scored by sophomore forward Chris Hudson (Hodgdon, Maine/Northampton Williston School), to stretch the lead to 23, 65-42.

Franklin Pierce gradually closed the gap, drawing within eight on a put-back by senior forward Jordan Lackey (South Plainfield, N.J.) with 7:39 remaining.

Richmond answered with a 15-foot step back, Wheeler followed with a second-chance basket and after a Raven basket, the Falcons scored the next eight to make it a 92-74 game with just under three minutes to play.

Richmond, who set the Bentley single game record with 45 points last year against Adelphi, finished 14 of 22 overall and six of eight from three-point land. He also chipped in with six rebounds and three assists while becoming only the third player in program history with two 600-point seasons.

Four other Falcons joined him in doubles, including Hudson who filled the stat sheet with 16 points, 13 rebounds, four assists and two steals. Junior forward Zach Gilpin (Hampden, Maine/ Hampden Academy) followed with 12, Wheeler finished with 11 and Stankiewicz netted 10 off the bench. Wheeler also provided five assists, five rebounds and three steals.

Senior forward Asante Sandiford (Boston, Mass.) led the way for Franklin Pierce with 15 points. The Ravens, whose chances of making the conference tournament ended earlier in the night when Southern New Hampshire defeated Assumption, finished their season at 14-12 overall and 9-12 in the NE10.

Bentley wound up shooting 55 percent overall and making 14 of 26 three-pointers. The Falcons assisted on 23 of 33 baskets and were a plus-ten on the boards, 39-29.

Bentley and Saint Rose met once during the regular season with the Golden Knights prevailing by eight, 81-73, last month.