WALTHAM, Mass. – With the regular season down to its final three games and final seven days, the Bentley University men's basketball team will be back in the Dana Center Wednesday night to take on Assumption College. The 7:30 pm contest can be viewed on the NE10 NOW Digital Network.

It's been a bumpy road of late for the Falcons, who slipped to 16-9 overall and 8-8 Northeast-10 after winning only twice since Jan. 11. Bentley is currently holding on to fourth place in the conference's Northeast Division with a half-game lead over Southern New Hampshire following Saturday's 87-81 loss to the Penmen. The Falcons are two games back of third-place Franklin Pierce, who they'll host on Saturday.

Assumption, with two games left, is two games out of the playoffs with records of 12-12 overall and 6-11 NE10. The Greyhounds, winless in their last six road games, need to win both of their remaining games and have SNHU lose both of theirs to have a chance at gaining the fifth and final seed out of the Northeast.

In Saturday's game, Bentley received standout performances from senior forward Chris Hudson (Hodgdon, Maine/Williston Northampton School) and junior guard Jordan Mello-Klein (Sharon/Thayer Academy) but saw the Penmen shoot 52 percent, both inside the arc and out. It marked the third time in the last five games that the Falcons gave up at least 80 points, as compared to only twice in the first 20 contests.

Hudson and Mello-Klein teamed for 51 points at SNHU with both players 9-of-15 from the field. Hudson, who played all 40 minutes for the second straight game, finished with 28 points and had multiple steals and blocks for the fourth straight game. Mello-Klein scored 23 points, his third highest total of the season, and came up with a career-best seven steals.

The NE10 leader in field goal percentage and blocks, Hudson is averaging 19.2 points after scoring at least in five straight games, a stretch in which he's totaled 126 points.

Mello-Klein, eight away from the first 150-assist season by a Falcon since Tim Forbes 15 years ago, provides the Falcons with 12.3 points, six rebounds and 5.7 assists a game. In conference play, he's shot 52 percent overall and 48 percent from three while averaging 14 points.

In between those two on the Bentley scoring list is sophomore guard Mason Webb (Oklahoma City, Okla./Bishop McGuinness HS), the team leader in three-pointers with 59. His scoring has tailed off in recent games, but he's still averaging 15.5 points.

Coach Jay Lawson hasn't varied his lineup this season with the above three joined by sophomore guard Brian Wright-Kinsey (Brooklyn, N.Y./Brooks School) and junior forward Pete Blust (Hinsdale, Ill./ Hinsdale Central HS). Wright-Kinsey scores 9.7 a game and Blust follows at eight a game.

Off the bench, senior guard Seth Stankiewicz (Reading/The Hill School) has been the top scorer, averaging 6.1 points while sinking 42 percent of his three-point attempts.

Assumption, which scores 83 points a game at home but only 76 on the road, features Matthew Kelly, a junior guard who has caused Bentley some problems over his career. He had a 36-point game against the Falcons as a freshman and matched his season-high with 27 points in a Bentley win back in December.

For the season, Kelly averages 16.4 points with 61 three-pointers, 102 assists and 37 steals, all team-leading numbers.

Also averaging in doubles for the Hounds are junior forwards Malik Brown and Jordan White. Brown scores nearly 13 a game and leads Assumption in rebounds (7.1) while White provides 10.8 points per game and shoots 54 percent overall.

 In the prior meeting between the two teams, back on December 4, the trio of Mello-Klein, Hudson and Blust combined for 71 as Bentley gained a 96-87 road win. Mello-Klein and Hudson, as they did Saturday, combined for 51 with Mello-Klein putting up a career-high 28, and Blust had 20, also a career-best. Kelly sank five triples during a 27-point performance for Assumption.

Bentley will close out the home schedule Saturday with a 3:30 pm Senior Day game against Franklin Pierce.