WALTHAM, Mass. – Graduate guard Jordan Mello-Klein (Sharon, Mass./Thayer Academy) had eight points, three rebounds and two assists during a game-ending 18-8 run as Bentley University came from behind to defeat Southern New Hampshire University, 75-68, in Northeast-10 Conference men's basketball Tuesday night at the Stan Spirou Field House.

Mello-Klein finished with 20 points, seven rebounds and eight assists while playing all 40 minutes.

The win was Bentley's fourth straight and boosted the Falcons, ranked 25^th in the D2SIDA media poll, to 6-1 overall and 3-1 NE10. SNHU, after losing to Bentley for the second time in ten days, dropped to 5-4 overall and 2-3 conference.

 There was very little separation, nine lead changes and six ties in a first half that ended with SNHU up two, 29-27. Neither team shot well (Bentley .313, SNHU .364) and the Falcons had the rebounding edge, 22-18.

Once play resumed, neither team could miss. The Penmen were sizzling, making 11 of 12 overall with five three-pointers, and Bentley stayed within reach by making nine of 12 from the floor. SNHU got up by as many as nine during that stretch but with just under 11 to play, the Falcons were only down three, 56-53.

It was still a three-point game when Mello-Klein knocked down a game-tying three from the right wing with 5:05 to play, making it 60-all.  Thirty seconds later, senior guard Mason Webb (Oklahoma City, Okla./Bishop McGuinness HS) connected on a go-ahead triple from the left corner and Bentley had the lead for good.

Mello-Klein made it a five-point game, 68-63, with 3:11 to play when he sank his fourth trifecta. Just over a minute later, sophomore guard Aaron Latham (Glastonbury, Conn./Glastonbury HS) pushed it to a three-possession game, 70-63, with a spinning lay-up.

Senior guard Brian Wright-Kinsey (Brooklyn, N.Y./Brooks School) restored the lead to seven, 73-66, with a three with 45.6 seconds left and two free throws by Mello-Klein with 19.7 on the clock closed out the scoring.

Webb followed Mello-Klein in the scoring column with 19 points, on 7-of-11 shooting, as well as six rebounds and three assists. Wright-Kinsey stuck three treys en route to 11 points and Latham added 10 points off the bench, all in the second half.

Junior forward Ryan Layman (Wrentham, Mass.) led SNHU with 15 points and sophomore guard Noah Kanta (Lynn, Mass.) followed with 14. Both players connected three times from outside the arc.

Bentley had the shooting edge, 44-42 edge, after SNHU cooled off considerably after building their nine-point lead. The Penmen missed on 16 of their last 21 shot attempts, including all eight of their threes.

Free throws (10-3), rebounds (42-31) and fast break points (13-2) all favored the Falcons.

Bentley's next game is Sunday at home against Franklin Pierce (2 pm).