PACE RALLIES TO TOP AIC 81-75

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (January 26, 2006) – Neal Wellington (Wheaton, MD/Good Counsel) (Wheaton, Md.) totaled 16 of his game-high 24 points in the second half as Pace University overcame an 11-point deficit with just under 16 minutes remaining to top American International College 81-75 in Northeast-10 men's basketball at Butova Gymnasium Thursday night. The Setters even their record at 10-10 overall and 6-8 in NE-10 play, while the Yellow Jackets are now 9-10 and 5-9 in the league.

Gilbraltar White (Gautier, Miss.) totaled 20 points for Pace, who also got 11 points and 13 rebounds from Oneil Morgan (Kingston, Jamaica/Excelsior) (Kingston, Jamaica). John Huggins (Philadelphia, Pa.) led four AIC players in double figures with 22 points, while Dexter Gregory (Paterson, N.J.) recorded 13 points and 14 rebounds. Jenar Harrison (Queens, N.Y.) registered 12 points while Jeff Dosado (Montreal, Quebec) notched all 11 of his points in the first half.

AIC, which led 42-33 at halftime, opened up a 50-39 lead with 15:44 to play on a layup by Gregory. The Setters would run off nine unanswered points and a jumper by Randy Wilson (Peekskill, NY/Peekskill) (Peekskill, N.Y.) with 13:08 to go made it 50-48. The Yellow Jackets would bump the lead back to six at the 10:41 mark on a basket by Vernon Dupree (Wilmington, Del.) but Pace went on a 14-1, taking the lead at 8:08 on a basket by White and leading 66-59 with 6:08 to play on a Wellington three.

Wellington gave the Setters a 75-65 lead with 1:43 left, but AIC used a 10-3 run capped by a Huggins three at the top of the key with 21 seconds left to make it 78-75. Wellington would go 3-4 at the free throw line for Pace over the final 19 seconds to preserve the win.

Pace opened up a 15-7 lead just under seven minutes into the game and led 25-19 when AIC went on a 19-4 run capped by a Harrison dunk with 2:29 to go before intermission to give itself a 38-29 lead. Dosado canned three straight threes during the run, his final trifecta giving the hosts a 35-29 lead at the 3:27 mark. The Yellow Jackets took a nine-point cushion into the locker room.

Pace generated a 48-39 rebounding advantage for the game and was 13-17 (76.5%) at the free throw line, while AIC was just 10-18 (55.6%) at the stripe.

AIC travels to UMass Lowell Saturday afternoon for a 4:00 tilt.

Press release courtesy of American International College Sports Information