WALTHAM, Mass. – With the regular season quickly winding down, the Bentley University men's basketball team will be back in the Dana Center Tuesday night, looking to improve on its playoff seeding when it hosts Franklin Pierce University at 7:30 pm.

Victories have been elusive for the Falcons thus far this month with the Falcons dropping three straight, the last two on the road, to slip into a tie for fifth place at 15-8 overall and 11-8 NE-10. The top six will receive first-round byes in the ten-team tournament and the top four will be at home for the quarterfinals.

Franklin Pierce will come into the Dana Center as one of the most improved teams in Division II with the Ravens alone in second place at 17-6 overall and 13-6 in conference play. The Ravens have already posted their highest victory total since 1999-2000 and have nearly tripled last year's victory total of six.

The city of Manchester, N.H. wasn't kind to either club on Saturday with both coming up on the short of the scoreboard. Bentley dropped a 76-66 decision to Southern New Hampshire and the Ravens saw their four-game winning streak ended by Saint Anselm, 69-67.

Bentley's 10-point loss Saturday matched their margin of victory over Franklin Pierce back on Dec. 7 when the Falcons became the only visiting team to record a win at the FPU Fieldhouse this season. The 70-60 win featured 24 points from senior guard Sam Leclerc (Fayette, Maine/Winthrop HS), whose five three-pointers in nine attempts matched the number that Pierce made in 22 tries.

Leclerc tops the scoring list for the Falcons, with his average up to a season-high 15.7 after netting 22 a game over the last five contests. He's been one of the most accurate shooters from both three-point land (.460) and the free throw line (.833) in the conference and is the only NE-10 player with at least 50 three-pointers and 80 free throws made. In both of those categories, he ranks third with 64 three-balls and 90 free throws.

One of the two NE-10 players with more three-pointers than Leclerc is his backcourt mate, sophomore Jasper Grassa (Lynn/Lynn Classical HS). He's connected from downtown a conference-high 72 times, with Saturday's five at SNHU marking the fifth time this winter he's had at least that many. Grassa's 19 points against the Penmen boosted his season scoring average.

The list of top ten three-point shooters in the conference also includes Bentley freshman Andrew Shaw (Saco, Maine/Thornton Academy), who connects at a 45 percent success rate. His 11.1 scoring average remains the third best in the NE-10 amongst non-starters.

Franklin Pierce, which has used the same starting five in every game, features the most accurate three-point shooter in the conference, junior guard Eric Jean-Guillaume. He is just a shade under 50 percent from outside the arc and he tops the Ravens with a 15.5 scoring average.

Six-foot-three wing Ellis Cooper is having a solid sophomore year, producing 14.4 points and 5.7 rebounds a game, and six-foot-five freshman Ryen Vilmont has stepped in to average 10.5 points, with 42 three-pointers.

Following Tuesday's game, there will only be two games left in the regular season, at home on Saturday against Stonehill and at UMass-Lowell next Tuesday.