WALTHAM, Mass. – After a midweek bye, the Bentley University men's basketball team will be back in action Saturday when the Falcons pay a visit to Southern New Hampshire University, looking for their 17th win of the season. Tipoff is set for 3:30 pm and the game can be viewed on the NE10 NOW digital network.

It's been a tough few weeks for the Falcons, who have slid to fourth in the Northeast-10 Conference's Northeast Division after dropping their last four, including three that weren't decided until the game's final possession. Bentley, currently a game-and-a-half behind second-place Stonehill and one back of third-place Franklin Pierce, leads SNHU by a game-and-a-half in the battle for fourth.

Southern New Hampshire, coached by former Falcon captain and assistant coach Jack Perri, has won four in a row at home to improve to 14-10 overall and 7-9 conference.  Most recently, the Penmen fell to crosstown rival Saint Anselm, 72-61, after leading by eight about four minutes into the second half.

This will be the second meeting of the year between Bentley head coach Jay Lawson and his former aide. About two months ago in Waltham, the Falcons limited the Penmen to 36 percent shooting and placed four players in double figures in the scoring column, including junior guard Jordan Mello-Klein (Sharon/Thayer Academy), who finished with 16 points, seven rebounds and six assists. Each of Bentley's top seven connected at least once from deep.

Bentley is coming off a 74-71 loss to St. Michael's last Saturday, a game that saw the Falcons shoot 67 percent inside the arc but make only 7 of 19 three-pointers. Senior forward Chris Hudson (Hodgdon, Maine/Williston Northampton) led Bentley with 20 points, the 12th time this season he's score at least that many.

Hudson is one of only two conference players ranked in the top nine in the NE10 in scoring, rebounds, field goal percentage, steals and blocks. The NE10 leader in field goal percentage and blocks produces 18.8 points, 7.6 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 1.5 blocks and 1.5 steals a game while shooting .583 from the field.

Over the last four contests, the six-foot-five Hudson has totaled 98 points, 25 rebounds, 13 assists, 12 steals and seven blocks.

Sophomore guard Mason Webb (Oklahoma City, Okla./Bishop McGuinness HS) and Mello-Klein also own double-digit scoring averages, at 15.7 and 11.8, respectively, and sophomore guard Brian Wright-Kinsey (Brooklyn, N.Y./Brooks School) is just under at 9.9. Webb has a team-best 57 three-pointers and an .894 free throw percentage, and Mello-Klein shoots .464 from three-point land.

Junior forward Pete Blust (Hinsdale, Ill./Hinsdale Central HS), who averages 8.1 points and five rebounds, completes the starting five. Off the bench, senior guard Seth Stankiewicz (Reading, Pa./The Hill School) shoots 41 percent from three and scores 6.1 a game.

For SNHU, six-foot-ten senior forward Eamonn Joyce is averaging 18.5 points and seven rebounds with nearly a third of his field goals coming from outside the arc.  He's been a force over the last month, averaging 22.3 points and 9.6 rebounds in his last nine games.

Junior Michael Almonacy and senior forward Shawn Montague are also offensive threats for the Penmen, who rank fourth in the NE10 in scoring. Both produce about 15 points a game and Almoncy has drained 60 three-pointers.

After facing the Penmen, Bentley will return to the Dana for the final two home games of the season, Wednesday against Assumption and Saturday against Franklin Pierce.