WALTHAM, Mass. – Riding a seven-game winning streak, the Bentley University men's basketball team will end their holiday break Saturday afternoon when they host Franklin Pierce University in Northeast-10 Conference action. The Falcons' final game of the calendar year will tip at 2 pm and will be available on the NE10 NOW Digital Network.

It's been an impressive start to the season for the Falcons, who are 9-1 overall and 4-1 Northeast-10. Coach Jay Lawson's team is number 14 in most recent NABC Division II coaches poll and has won 19 consecutive home games, the sixth longest streak in Division II.

Bentley's only blemish in its last 24 home games came against Franklin Pierce in December 2021. The Falcons battled back from 13 down but saw a potential game winning shot get blocked just before the final horn. The Ravens swept the two regular season meetings last year before Bentley prevailed when the two clubs met in the Northeast-10 championship game, 68-62.

Franklin Pierce has won three straight games and will come into the Dana Center with records of 7-3 overall and 3-2 NE10. During the current streak, the Ravens have downed Saint Michael's, Caldwell and Goldey Beacom by an average of 21.7 points.

Bentley is coming off an 88-63 non-conference win over Jefferson on Dec. 18. The Falcons scored 58 points in the paint, shot .603 overall and collected nearly 70 percent of the game's rebounds. All five starters scored in doubles with junior guard Zach Laput (Beacon Falls, Conn./Notre Dame HS) leading the way with 20 points and graduate forward Matt Leritz (St. Louis, Mo./St. Louis University HS) following with 14.

That was the first time this season all five netted 10 points or more, but through ten games, all are averaging at least 11 points. Laput tops the list with his 21.6 norm the best in the NE10 by more than four points. He's scored at least 20 eight times and has two double-doubles.

Leritz, formerly a Division III All-America at Illinois Wesleyan, leads the conference in rebounds (9.7) and three-point accuracy (.550), is third in field goal percentage (.620) and follows Laput in the scoring column at 14.2.

Grad students Mason Webb (Oklahoma City, Okla./Bishop McGuinness HS) and Brian Wright-Kinsey (Brooklyn, N.Y./Brooks School) both produce at least 11 points a game as does junior guard Aaron Latham (Glastonbury, Conn./Glastonbury HS). Webb has been outstanding from the line (.929), Wright-Kinsey has a 4-1 assist turnover ratio and Latham has a dozen steals.

Off the bench, senior forward Isaac Martin (Atlanta, Ga./Norcross HS) has shot the three-ball at a 44-percent success rate and is averaging 5.2 points.

Franklin Pierce, which has only two grad students and one senior on its roster, is led by sophomore guard Mohamed Traore. He averages 13.4 points, 4.7 rebounds, three assists and one steal while shooting .398 overall and .368 from downtown.

The other three Ravens who have started all ten games also own double-figure averages. Senior guard Brandon Kolek averages 12.5 points and 4.7 rebounds, junior forward Sean Brennan provides 12.2 points and 6.5 rebounds a game. and six-seven forward Sean Trumper contributes 10.8 points and 5.3 rebounds a game.

Franklin Pierce, which has a scoring margin of +6.7, shoots 44 percent overall, 37 percent from three and 63 percent at the line. The Ravens are second in the NE10 in assists, trailing only Bentley, and third in each of the three-point categories.

Bentley, 28-16 all-time against Franklin Pierce, has won four of its last five home games against Ravens. Since 2017, each team has won five times.

Bentley's first two games of 2023 will be on the road, Wednesday at Saint Rose and Jan. 7 at American International.