WALTHAM, Mass. – The Northeast 10 race heats up as the Bentley men's basketball team hosts Assumption Saturday, Feb. 14, at 3 p.m.
 
Conference race
Bentley (16-7, 9-5 NE10) and Assumption (14-9, 9-5 NE10) are two of four teams tied for second place in the Northeast 10. Pace (14-8, 9-5 NE10) and Saint Michael's (15-9, 9-5 NE10) are also in the thick of the race. Saint Anselm (18-6, 11-3 NE10) sits in first place.
 
Double the fun
Bentley is the only team with two players who both rank top five in the NE10 for scoring. Cooper Farrall's 17.0 points per game ranks third in the conference, and Cash McClure ranks fifth with a scoring average of 16.2.
 
Jordan's on
Jordan Elliott shot 4-for-4 from 3-point range during Bentley's 92-85 win at American International this week (Feb. 11). He was two makes shy of tying the program record for most 3-point makes in a game without a miss. Tim Forbes shot 6-for-6 from beyond the arc against Le Moyne in Nov. 2004, and Lew Finnegan did the same against Merrimack in Dec. 2007.
 
Splash landing
Bentley leads the NE10 in 3-point shooting by a wide margin. The Falcons are shooting 37.5-percent from distance, while the next-best conference mark is 34.8-percent (Saint Anselm). Sophomore Mantas Zilys is the best 3-point shooter in the conference, connecting on half of his attempts (35-for-70). Joe Carroll ranks seventh in the NE10 by making 39.7-percent of his 3-point attempts.
 
Value the rock
Bentley is easily the best team in the NE10 at taking care of the basketball. The team averages just 10.2 turnovers per game, while the next-best mark in the conference is 12.0 (Adelphi).
 
Three-headed monster
Bentley is still the best rebounding team in the NE10, and it has been for the majority of the season. The Falcons enter the weekend averaging 39.1 rebounds per game. Cooper Farrall ranks fourth in the NE10 for rebounding (8.5), Cash McClure ranks ninth (6.9), and Chase Clarke ranks 10^th (6.4). Bentley is the only team with three players in the NE10 top 10 for rebounding.
 
Outlasting the 'Hounds
Bentley beat Assumption, 85-81, in Worcester nearly one month ago (Jan. 17). Five Falcons scored in double figures: Cooper Farrall (23), Cash McClure (15), Ivan Misic (14), Mantas Zilys (12), Joe Carroll (10).
 
Scouting Assumption (14-9, 9-5 NE10)
The Greyhounds have four wins in their last six games. They suffered consecutive losses against Saint Michael's and Adelphi during that stretch. Assumption is the conference's second-leading scoring offense by averaging 81.1 points per game. Its defense, however, ranks second-to-last by yielding 78.3 points per game. Tayeshawn Cunningham-Pemberton (14.3) is the team's leading scorer, and Daouda Dembele (5.0) is the team's leading rebounder.