WALTHAM, Mass. – Six days after suffering only its third loss in 20 games this season, the Northeast-10 Conference-leading Bentley University men's basketball team will be back in action Tuesday when they take on Adelphi University in Garden City, N.Y. The 7:30 pm game from the Center for Recreation and Sport will be available on the NE10 NOW Digital Network.

With the regular season conference schedule down to its final quarter, Bentley is 12-3 in NE10 games and 17-3 overall. Only a game-and-a-half separate the top four teams in the Northeast-10 with coach Jay Lawson's team owning a one-game advantage over both Saint Anselm and Southern New Hampshire, and New Haven following in fourth.

The Adelphi Panthers, 4-14 conference and 10-14 overall, has dropped three in a row, all by six or less.  

Both Bentley and Adelphi are coming off losses to Southern New Hampshire, the conference's hottest team with 10 wins in its last 11 games. After leading by 12 with about seven-and-a-half minutes to play last Wednesday, the Falcons were outscored 26-9 down the stretch during an 81-76 loss. On Saturday, Adelphi came up short against SNHU, 77-71, after giving up 18 points off turnovers and 13 second-chance points.

Bentley has had difficulties in the CSR in recent years, having lost on its last four visits, including a one-pointer last February. In that one, two Panther free throws with 1.3 seconds reversed a one-point Falcon lead and lifted the home team to the win.

Earlier this season, Bentley edged Adelphi at home, 75-72, after graduate guard Brian Wright-Kinsey (Brooklyn, N.Y./Brooks School) sank three free throws with 0.8 seconds remaining to cap a game-ending 9-0 run. The Panthers gave the Falcons a battle despite playing shorthanded with several of their leading scorers unavailable. In the win, the Falcons had a plus-16 rebound margin and 13 more made free throws.

Close games have been the trend when the two teams face either with four of the last five decided by three points or less.

NE10 scoring leader and Bentley junior guard Zach Laput (Beacon Falls, Conn./Notre Dame HS) has recorded a double-double in each of his two career games against Adelphi and is averaging 20.4 points after scoring 25 against Southern New Hampshire. That was the 14^th 20-point game of the season for Laput, who is shooting 54 percent overall and 42 percent from three.

Graduate guard Mason Webb (Oklahoma City, Okla./Bishop McGuinness HS), who is five points shy of 1,300 career, has had the hot hand from three of late, making 20 over the last four games with an accuracy rate of nearly 50 percent. His season average stands at 13.6, third on the team.

Graduate transfer forward Matt Leritz (St. Louis, Mo./St. Louis University HS) scored his 1300^th point as a collegian on Wednesday and is averaging 14.8 points. He remains number two in the conference in both rebounds (8.8) and field goal percentage (.611).

The remainder of Bentley's starting five also own double figure scoring averages with junior guard Aaron Latham (Glastonbury, Conn./Glastonbury HS) at 11.3 and Wright-Kinsey at 10.3.

The Falcons, who have a plus-9.5 rebound margin, have three of the conference's top ten rebounders with Leritz joined by Wright-Kinsey (7.5) and Laput (6.6).

Adelphi features graduate guard Ronnie Silva, a two-time first-team All-Northeast-10 honoree who is 34 points shy of 2,000 career. He's averaging 15.1 points this season, down from 20.4 a year ago, and has eight 20-point games.

Freshmen Elijah Lewis and Dayshaun Walton follow Silva in the scoring column, averaging 14.2 and 13.8 points, respectively. Lewis has had a strong shooting season, 53 percent overall and 42 percent from outside the arc.

Defense has been an issue for the Panthers as they are in the bottom two in conference games in scoring defense, field goal percentage defense, defending the three, blocks and steals. The Panthers are also 12^th in rebound margin at minus 4.4.

Following the trip to Long Island, Bentley will begin a two-game homestand Saturday against Pace.