WALTHAM, Mass. – Junior guard Jordan Mello-Klein (Sharon/Thayer Academy) led a balanced attack with 16 points and the Falcon defense held Southern New Hampshire to 30 points below its season norm as Bentley University led for all but the first 30 seconds in a 75-56 victory in Northeast-10 Conference men's basketball at the Dana Center.

Bentley stayed beaten at home (7-0) and improved to 8-2 overall and 3-1 NE10. Southern New Hampshire, which came in averaging 86 points on 51 percent shooting, fell to 7-3 overall, including 2-3 conference.

It was a 16-8 start for the Falcons, a run ignited by a three-pointer from left of center by junior forward Pete Blust (Hinsdale, Ill./Hinsdale Central HS) and a fast-break lay-up from senior forward Chris Hudson (Hodgdon, Maine/Williston Northampton School) after a steal.

The Penmen cut the deficit to four on four occasions before Bentley closed out the half with a 10-6 spurt to go up 39-31. Mello-Klein had the first two on free throws and the last two on a foul line jumper, and Blust sank his second three-ball of the half.

After SNHU used seven straight points to draw within five with just under 12 minutes to play, Bentley ran off 11 unanswered to go up 58-42 and was never threatened again. Sophomore guard Mason Webb (Oklahoma City, Okla./Bishop McGuinness HS) got it going with a driving lay-up, sophomore forward Adria Amabilino-Perez (Barcelona, Spain) buried a top-of-the-key three and Mello-Klein scored the final six, on a traditional three-point play and a triple to beat the shot clock.

Later in the half, Bentley used a 13-3 run, capped by a Hudson three, to make it a 75-52 game with 1:45 to play.

Mello-Klein complemented his 16 points with seven rebounds and six assists. Hudson followed with 14 points, nine rebounds and two blocks, and Blust contributed 12 points, seven rebounds and two blocks.

Bentley also received a strong effort from sophomore guard Brian Wright-Kinsey (Brooklyn, N.Y./Brook School), who made two three-pointers and finished with 10 points and nine rebounds. The Falcons also received eight points from Webb and senior guard Seth Stankiewicz (Reading, Pa./The Hill School), and seven points from Amabalino Perez.

Freshman guard Jacari Sanders (San Antonio, Texas) led SNHU with 15 points. The team's top three scorers for the season were held to 29 points on 11 of 40 shooting.

Bentley shot .424 overall and buried 10 of 23 three-pointers with seven different players connecting from deep. Southern New Hampshire was held to .356 overall and was outrebounded 44-35.

The next contest for the Falcons is Dec. 21 at Felician.