Last Updated:March 25. 2008 11:15PM
Published: March 26. 2008 3:30AM

Bentley's Nate Fritsch said the memory of playing in last year's Elite Eight was a good one, but the outcome of a first-round loss to Winona State left him wanting more.

He and his teammates get a chance to make a better ending to this year's story beginning tonight when the Falcons (33-0) take on North Alabama (27-8) in the final first-round game at the tournament.

"Honestly, I don't think we played our best game last year," said Fritsch, who averages 13 points off the bench for the Falcons. "Not to take anything away from Winona State, because they had a good team, but we didn't play our best. They had something to do with that, though."

Coach Jay Lawson just wants to see his team play better than it did last year.

"We felt like we could have played better," Lawson said. "Maybe they were more comfortable because they had won it the year before. All you can do is go up there and try to play your best game on both ends of the floor. When you get there, there's no guarantee that you will do well. You just try to do the best you can."

Fritsch hopes that having gone through the experience of playing in the Elite Eight will give Bentley somewhat of an edge tonight against North Alabama. He's not certain that will be the case, however.

"It was new to everyone of us last year - the coaches, the players - but I don't think anyone was in awe of the situation. I don't think we we got ahead of ourselves. We just didn't play our best game."

A year later, Fristsch is hopeful the experience from last year will help.

"I hope it gives us an edge," he said. "At this stage, pretty much anyone here can beat anyone else."

The teams have one common opponent this year - Assumption. UNA lost to Assumption in an early season tournament, while Bentley swept three games from its Northeast-10 opponent.

Again, Lawson and Fritsch caution against reading anything into that game, which came at the start of the season.

"We look at the latest film as more of an indication of the team we're playing," Fritsch said. "Most teams change a lot during the course of the season. I'm sure that's the case with North Alabama."

Lawson said seeing game film of UNA against Assumption might have some value, but not much.

"I'd rather have as much film from the last month," he said.

Bentley plays in the Northeast-10 Conference and plays 22 conference games during the season. Fritsch said the schedule is pretty brutal.

"It's a crazy league," he said. "There is not a lot of difference from the top to the bottom. We played at Franklin Pierce and they had us six-feet under. We needed a steal and a layup, and it still came down to the last 30 seconds. They had a shot to beat us and they didn't even make it to the conference tournament."

Added Lawson, "You have to have a lot of mental toughness to handle a 22-game conference schedule. It's a marathon season, but if you ask Bentley what we think about, we're fine with it."

How any of that translates into an edge for the Falcons is anybody's guess.

"I guess we'll find out," Fritsch said.

Gregg Dewalt can be reached at 740-5748 or gregg.dewalt@timesdaily.com.