WALTHAM, Mass. – Competing in the conference championship tournament for a record 38th time, the Bentley University men's basketball team will host the University of New Haven Friday at 5 pm in a Northeast-10 first round game, with a trip to Syracuse, N.Y. and a Sunday afternoon encounter with Le Moyne College awaiting the winner.

For those who can't make it to the Dana Center, the game will be webcast over the NE10 NOW digital network.

Bentley, 17-11, is the fourth seed out of the Northeast Division while New Haven is the Southwest Division's number five seed. The Chargers will make the trip to Waltham with a 12-14 record. In conference play, New Haven finished 10-9 and the Falcons were 9-10.

This is the second time that the two programs will meet in the postseason, the first coming in the NE10 quarterfinals a year ago. In that one, played down in West Haven, Conn., three New Haven free throws, following a controversial foul call with ten seconds left, and a game-clinching steal just before the final horn gave the Chargers a 70-69 win and ended the Falcons' season.

Both teams have struggled down the stretch this season with Bentley owning only three wins since Jan. 12, including a 105-72 rout of Franklin Pierce Saturday in the last home game of the regular season, and New Haven 3-6 in its last nine.

Bentley coach Jay Lawson hasn't varied his lineup all season with two of the five, senior forward Chris Hudson (Hodgdon, Maine/Williston Northampton) and junior guard Jordan Mello-Klein (Sharon/ Thayer Academy), each having lengthy starting streaks. Hudson has started 74 straight and Mello-Klein has been in the starting unit for the Falcons' last 65 contests.

Those two are regularly joined by junior forward Peter Blust (Hinsdale, Ill./Hinsdale Central HS) and a pair of sophomore guards, Mason Webb (Oklahoma City, Okla./Bishop McGuinness HS) and Brian Wright-Kinsey (Brooklyn, N.Y./Brooks School).

Hudson leads the Northeast-10 in field goal percentage (.568) and blocks (1.4), as well as ranking fifth in scoring at 19 a game. He's moved into the top 20 in program history in career rebounds and with 1,411 points, is 19 away from surpassing Ray Andersen '71 for 20th on the scoring list.

Webb, the team leader in three-pointers made (66), and Mello-Klein, number two in Bentley history in three-point accuracy (.444, including .461 this season), are Bentley's other two double-figure scorers. Webb is averaging 15.3 points and Mello-Klein follows at 12.0, including 13.4 at home where he's made 29 of 54 triples.

Wright-Kinsey owns a 9.7 scoring average and Blust provides 7.7 points and 5.3 rebounds a game.

Senior guard Seth Stankiewicz (Reading, Pa./Reading HS) is the Falcons' top scorer off the bench, averaging 6.6 points. He buried seven three-pointers in the Franklin Pierce game Saturday and has knocked down the three-pointer at a 61 percent success rate at home this season.

New Haven features senior guard Elijah Bailey, the number four scorer in the NE10 at 19.7. He's had a pair of five-game stretches this season when he's scored at least 20, the most recent coming from Jan. 18-Feb. 1.  Bailey also leads the team in three-pointers with 65.

The team's other two double-figure scorers, senior forward Kessly Felizor and junior guard Derrick Rowland, also rank among the NE10 statistical leaders. Felizor (13.9 ppg) is sixth in rebounds (8.8) and fourth in field goal percentage (.533). Rowland is fifth in assists (4.3) in addition to scoring 13.2 a game.

Both teams rank in the top four in scoring defense with the Chargers second at 70.3 and Bentley fourth at 72.8. Offensively, the Falcons rank seventh at 79.5 and New Haven is 14th at 70.7.

New Haven has won four straight against Bentley, including 72-42 down in Connecticut in mid-January. That one included a 12-6 advantage in three-pointers for the Chargers, including five from freshman forward Davontrey Thomas.

The other first-round game on Friday has Southern New Hampshire visiting Pace with a Sunday game at Saint Anselm awaiting the winner.

Sunday's other quarterfinal games have Franklin Pierce at Adelphi and Southern Connecticut at Stonehill.

NORTHEAST-10 CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIPS

First Round ­ Friday, February 28

Game 1:  #5 SW New Haven at #4 NE Bentley, 5:00 PM
Game 2:  #5 NE Southern New Hampshire at #4 SW Pace, 7:30 PM

Quarterfinals ­ Sunday, March 1

Game 3:  Game 1 winner at #1 SW Le Moyne, 4:00 PM
Game 4:  Game 2 winner at #1 NE Saint Anselm, 4:00 PM
Game 5:  #3 NE Franklin Pierce at #2 SW Adelphi, 4:00 PM
Game 6:  #3 SW Southern Connecticut at #2 NE Stonehill, 4:00 PM

Semifinals ­ Wednesday, March 4 (at highest seeds remaining)

Game 7: Game 6 winner vs. Game 3 winner, 7:00 PM
Game 8: Game 5 winner vs. Game 4 winner, 7:00 PM

Championship ­ Saturday, March 7 (at highest seed remaining)

Game 9:  Game 8 winner vs. Game 7 winner, 1:00 PM