WALTHAM, Mass. – Two of the top teams in the NCAA Division II East Region will square off Tuesday night in Pleasantville, N.Y. when the 22^nd-ranked Bentley University Falcons play at 6-2 Pace University. Tip-off at the Goldstein Athletics Center is scheduled for 7:30 pm. and fans can watch on the NE10NOW digital network.

It'll be the first meeting between the two programs since the 2022 NCAA East Region semifinals, a game won by the Falcons 96-84 in overtime. Zach Laput (Beacon Falls, Conn./Notre Dame HS), now the Northeast-10 scoring leader, led Bentley with a 26-point, 12-rebound double-double and Colton Lawrence buried two three-pointers during the extra session to send Coach Jay Lawson's team onto the regional final.

This year, Bentley is off to a 6-1 start, including 2-1 NE10, and is riding a four-game winning streak in which all were decided by double figures. Most recently, the Falcons went wire-to-wire for an 86-62 win over Southern Connecticut State Saturday in the Dana Center.

Pace, after a 67-56 win over Southern New Hampshire Saturday, owns a 6-2 record, including 1-2 NE10 and 4-0 at home.

Lawson has been getting great production out of his starting five, all of whom are averaging in double figures and coming up with at least two steals a game. Combined, they provide more than 70 points a game while shooting .549 overall, .419 from three and .873 from the line.

Laput, a junior guard who gets to the line more nearly eight times a game, averages 22.6 points and 7.4 rebounds a game. Graduate transfer Matt Leritz (St. Louis, Mo./St. Louis University HS), a Division III All-America when at Illinois Wesleyan, follows at 14.7 points with a .632 field goal percentage. He's the NE10's top rebounder, at 10.0 a game, as well as first in three-point accuracy (.667) and second in field goal percentage (.632).

Graduate guard Mason Webb (Oklahoma City, Okla./Bishop McGuinness HS) has averaged 17.5 points in his last two games and made a season-high five three-pointers against Southern Connecticut. He's been perfect on 19 attempts from the foul line.

Junior guard Aaron Latham (Glastonbury, Conn./Glastonbury HS) and grad student Brian Wright-Kinsey (Brooklyn, N.Y./Brooks School) own scoring averages of 12.1 and 11.6, respectively. Each had a strong performance against Southern, with Latham contributing nine assists, six points, four boards and a couple steals and Wright-Kinsey providing 14 points, eight rebounds and his ninth and tenth blocks of the season.

Pace features the Powell twins, six-foot-six forward Bryan and six-three guard Brandon. Brandon, a second-team All-Conference selection last year, leads the team in scoring at 15.6 per game, and Bryan, a first-team honoree last winter, owns a 12.6 average. Both are even on the boards at 5.4 a game, and each shoots at least 40 percent from three.

The third double figure scorer for the Setters is Southern Connecticut transfer Lyron Bennett at 11.4 a game.

Pace limits its opponents to a .368 field goal percentage, the lowest in the NE10, and 34 percent shoot from deep.

Bentley leads the all-time series, 26-11, after defeating Pace twice this season. The regulation matchup was also decided by 12, 86-74.

The Falcons will be back at home Saturday for a 3:30 pm encounter with Adelphi University.