WALTHAM, Mass. – With only four regular season games remaining, the Bentley University Falcons can take a large stride towards gaining a berth in the Northeast-10 Conference Men's Basketball Championships when they host Franklin Pierce University Saturday afternoon. A webcast for the 3:30 contest will be available at www.bentleyfalcons.tv.

Five teams from the Northeast Division will qualify and the number in contention for those berths has essentially been pared to six. Franklin Pierce, 12-11 overall, will come into the game in fourth place with a 9-8 conference record while Bentley (11-11) is tied for fifth at 8-9 with Stonehill, a team that owns the tie-breaker against the Falcons.

A victory would not only draw the Falcons even with the Ravens in the standings, but would give coach Jay Lawson's team the tie-breaker should the two finish tied, by virtue of a sweep of the season series. Back in November, Bentley traveled to Rindge, N.H. and returned home with a 94-68 win.

Both teams will bring a two-game winning streak into the game. Bentley upended division-leading Southern New Hampshire on Wednesday, 76-65, while Franklin Pierce is coming off an 86-74 win over St. Michael's.

The win over the Penmen saw Bentley sophomore guard Ryan Richmond (Toronto, Ont./ Thomson Collegiate) score over 20 for the fifth straight game and junior forward Brandon Wheeler (Stamford, Conn./Trinity Catholic HS) record his eighth double-double, the most by a Falcon since Tyler McFarland had nine in 2012-13.

Richmond has put up 27.4 points a game over the last five and 24.8 during the last ten to raise his season norm to 21.4, best by a Falcon guard in the last quarter-century. He finished the SNHU game with 25 while making at least seven free throws for the 11th time.

Wheeler also came up big against the Penmen, finishing with 17 points (all coming in the second half), 11 rebounds and two steals. He averages an even dozen points a game while leading the Falcons in rebounds (8.8), steals (29) and field goal percentage (.527). His rebound average is tied with Brian Tracey (2009-10) for the best by a Bentley player in the last two decades.

Senior guard Matt Barr (Stratham, N.H./Cushing Academy) remains one of the most accurate three-point shooters in the conference (.459) despite not connecting from deep Wednesday. He averages 9.7 points and classmate Ferguson Duke (Dartmouth, N.S./Hun School (N.J.)) follows at 9.4.

Sophomore forward Kyle Bouchard (Houlton, Maine/Houlton HS) provided a lift against SNHU while filling in for injured classmate Zach Gilpin (Hampden, Maine/Hampden Academy). Making his second start since before the holiday break, he gave the Falcons nine points, three rebounds and two assists.  

It's been a streaky season for Franklin Pierce, which had been 2-4 in its first six, 8-1 in its next nine and winless in its next six before winning two straight. The Ravens are one of five NE-10 teams averaging 80 (Bentley is just a shade under that mark at 79.8) but are just 13th in scoring defense, giving up 79 a game.

Four of coach David Chadbourne's starters own double-figure scoring averages, a list headed by senior guard Mike Banton, the fourth most prolific three-pointer shooter in the NE10, at 16.4. Six-foot-eight junior Mike McDevitt follows at 13.3.

While those two lead the team in scoring, the Raven who probably impacts the game the most is senior guard Donte Gittens. A third-team All-Conference pick a year ago, he gives the Ravens 5.8 rebounds, 5.4 assists, 1.7 blocks and 1.4 steals a game in addition to averaging 12.7 points.

After facing the Ravens, Bentley will finish the regular season with two road games (St. Michael's Wednesday and Merrimack Feb. 21) and one home contest (next Saturday vs. Saint Anselm).

Following Saturday's game, Bentley will hold its Alumni Game with a number of former Falcons expected to attend.