WALTHAM, Mass. – Following a sweep last weekend in the College of Staten Island Tournament of Heroes, the Bentley University men's basketball team will open Northeast-10 Conference play Saturday afternoon with a 3:30 pm game at Saint Anselm College. The game will be streamed over the NE10 NOW digital network (NE10NOW.tv).

While Bentley is off to a 2-0 start to the season, Saint Anselm will bring a 1-2 record into its home and conference opener. Since an opening night win over Roberts Wesleyan, the Hawks came up short at both Daemen, 81-69, and Post, 88-69.

During the Tournament of Heroes, Bentley shot an impressive .567 overall, a sizzling .588 from downtown, and .872 from the free throw line. The Falcons, ranked 14^th in the NABC preseason Division II poll and ninth in this week's D2SIDA media poll, outrebounded the opponent by 13.5 and all five starters averaged double-figures in the scoring column.

Junior guard Zach Laput (Beacon Falls, Conn./Notre Dame HS), the inaugural NE10 Player of the Week this season, was outstanding with averages of 24 points, nine rebounds and 3.5 assists. He shot .700 from the floor and spent a lot of time at the foul stripe, converting 18 of 21.

Aaron Latham (Glastonbury, Conn./Glastonbury HS), also a junior guard from the Nutmeg State, put up 19 points against both Goldey-Beacom and Wilmington (Del.). His 13 of 17 shooting including eight three-pointers in a dozen attempts.

Graduate transfer Matt Leritz (St. Louis, Mo./St. Louis University HS), a former Division III All-America at Illinois Wesleyan, also had a strong opening weekend as he produced 17.5 points and 7.0 rebounds. His .700 field goal percentage included perfection on five three-point attempts.

Also in doubles were grad students Brian Wright-Kinsey (Brooklyn, N.Y./Brooks School) and Mason Webb (Oklahoma City, Okla./Bishop McGuinness HS). Each had a team-high nine assists during the weekend and Wright-Kinsey was the team's number two rebounder (8.0).

Saint Anselm, which lost two of the four double-figure scorers from last year's 17-11 team, features grad student Tyler Arbuckle and senior guard Miles Tention. Arbuckle is the Hawks' top scorer at 16.6 and Tension follows at 15.0. Off the bench, Monroe Community College transfer Jadon Archer produces 10.7 points a game with a .565 shooting mark.

The Hawks have seen their first three opponents shoot .500 from the field and .475 from three. Both their rebound and turnover margins are a minus-four a game.

Saturday will be the 72^nd meeting between former University of New Hampshire classmates Jay Lawson and Keith Dickson. Lawson is in his 32^nd year at Bentley and Dickson, a one-time Bentley assistant, in his 37^th with Saint Anselm

Bentley leads the all-time series, 52-50, after sweeping the Hawks in three games last year, including 81-65 in the NE10 semifinals.

This will be the first of two straight for Bentley in the Granite State. On Tuesday, they'll be on the other side of Manchester to take on Southern New Hampshire.