12-2 Bentley Looks to Extend Winning Streak Against Visiting AIC
WALTHAM, Mass. – Owner of the NCAA Division II East Region's best overall record, the Bentley University men's basketball team will be looking to extend its winning streak to seven games when it hosts American International College Saturday at 3:30 pm. The game will be streamed on the NE10 NOW Digital Network.
Bentley, ranked 23rd in the NABC Division II coaches poll and the first-place team in the Northeast-10's Northeast Division, extended its winning streak to six on Wednesday with an 83-68 victory at Saint Rose. A victory would produce the program's first seven-game streak since the 2019-20 season.
AIC has been heading in the opposite direction. The Yellow Jackets have lost five in a row, including 83-71 to Southern New Hampshire Wednesday, to fall to 6-12 overall and 3-7 conference. Away from Butova Gymnasium, they are winless in nine contests.
This will be the second meeting between the two clubs in about a month. In Springfield on Dec. 20, five Falcons scored in doubles as Bentley prevailed 82-72. Sophomore guard Zach Laput (Beacon Falls, Conn./Notre Dame HS) led all scorers with 19 points and graduate guard Jordan Mello-Klein (Sharon/Thayer Academy) had one of his five double-doubles this season (15 points, 10 rebounds).
Bentley also had five players score 10 or more in Wednesday's win over Saint Rose. Mello-Klein led the way with 18 points and 11 rebounds and graduate guard Colton Lawrence (Myerstown, Pa./ELCO HS) followed with 16.
Four Falcons are averaging at least 15 points for the season with Lawrence (17.5 in six games) at the top of the list. Senior guard Mason Webb (Oklahoma City, Okla./Bishop McGuinness HS), who had made multiple three-pointers in 11 straight games prior to Wednesday, owns a 16-2 average and Laput is at 15.6.
Mello-Klein, Bentley's most recent 1,000-point scorer, produces 15.4 points, 8.7 rebounds and 6.1 assists. He's second in the conference in assists and fourth in rebounds.
Graduate forward Pete Blust (Hinsdale, Ill./Hinsdale HS), who had 14 points against Saint Rose, has climbed to first in the NE10 in field goal percentage (.653).
As a team, Bentley continues to lead the conference in scoring, all three shooting categories, rebounds, rebound margin, assists and scoring margin.
AIC, outscored by an average of 9.8 a game during its five-game slide, features junior forward Frankyn Batista, a junior forward from Hutchison Community College. He had his sixth double-double against SNHU and is averaging 11.8 points and 8.1 rebounds. His season opened with 24 points and 16 rebounds against Jefferson.
The rest of the offense is spread out with eight players producing between 5.7 and 8.7 points a game.
Bentley owns a six-game winning streak against AIC.
Coach Jay Lawson's team will also be at home Wednesday with Le Moyne College providing the opposition.