Bentley Hosts Felician Tuesday in Rare Weekday Matinee
WALTHAM, Mass. – After dropping consecutive contests for only the second time in the last three seasons, the Bentley University men's basketball team will look to get back on track Tuesday when it hosts Felician University in a rare weekday matinee.
The 3 pm non-conference encounter between the Falcons and the Golden Falcons will be streamed live over the NE10 NOW digital network.
Bentley, 33-3 in its last 36 home games with seven consecutive wins, returns to the Dana Center with a 5-4 overall record following road losses at Adelphi University, 71-68, and Southern New Hampshire, 64-57.
Felician, which has won its last four Division II games, gave Division I Merrimack a battle on Saturday before falling 89-85. That was the second D1 loss for the Golden Falcons, who are 6-4 overall and 1-4 on the road.
Bentley has been in the middle of the pack in the Northeast-10 offensively but ranks in the top four defensively with the opponents averaging 66.4 points and shooting only .418, including .328 from three. The Falcons' 57 points at SNHU last Wednesday was their fewest since the 2022 NCAA Division II Elite Eight against Northwest Missouri State.
Senior guard Zach Laput (Beacon Falls, Conn./Notre Dame HS) is the only NE10 player in the top four in scoring and rebounding, with his averages of 21.6 points and 7.3 boards both on pace for career-bests. In the SNHU game last week, he had his second double-double of the season, finishing with 22 points and 11 rebounds.
Over the last five games, graduate guard Kellan Bochenek (Kettering, Ohio/Fairmont HS) and sophomore guard Cash McClure (Readfield, Maine/Maranacook HS) have been steady contributors. Bochenek has averaged 13.2 points and 6.6 rebounds while shooting .511 overall and .469 from three. McClure's contributions over that span have included 11.6 points and 7.6 rebounds a game.
Bentley's number two scorer for the season is senior guard Aaron Latham (Glastonbury, Conn./Glastonbury HS), with an 11.3 average.
Felician plays at a high pace with the Golden Falcons 19th in Division II in scoring (88.7) and in the top 40 in turnovers forced, turnover margin, three-pointers made and three-point accuracy.
Like Bentley, the Golden Falcons have four players who possess double-figure scoring averages. Heading the list, at 16.5 and 16.4 respectively, are graduate guard Jaylen Colon and redshirt senior Anas Amos. They are also 1-2 on the team in assists and in the team's top four in steals.
Felician has size with the starting five including 6-5, 285-pound forward Dee-End McRae and six-eight forward Jhonny Tovar.
The two similarly-nicknamed programs have met three times previously with Bentley owning a 3-0 record in the series. The most recent encounter came in the 2022 NCAA Division II East Regionals, 95-63. That win included eight three-pointers from former Falcon Mason Webb and 18 points by Laput. Four of Felician's starters in that one are still wearing a Golden Falcon uniform this season.
Bentley's final road trip before the calendar changes will be Sunday afternoon at Post University. The Falcons will also be at home next Tuesday for a 7 pm encounter with the University of Bridgeport.