STRONG SECOND HALF GIVE LE MOYNE 73-68 WIN OVER SETTERS

SYRACUSE, N.Y.  Freshman Damani Corbin (Brooklyn, N.Y./Frederick Douglass) scored 21 points and senior Corey Smith (Gouverneur, N.Y./Gouverneur) added 20 to lead Le Moyne to a 73-68 win over Pace in a Northeast-10 Conference men's basketball game at Grant Court. The Dolphins (11-15, 6-15 Northeast-10) have won five consecutive games at home, while Pace drops to 12-14overall and 9-12 in the Northeast-10.

Corbin and Smith's point totals were career highs. Corbin helped put the game away with a 10-for-13 effort from the free throw line, while Smith drilled 6-of-11 from 3-point range. Senior Sid Pond (Watertown, N.Y./Watertown) registered a double-double in his final home game with 15 points and 12 rebounds. Junior Matt Cooper (Fulton, N.Y./Fulton) netted 13 points * all in the second half to land in double figures. Le Moyne shot 48.1% (26-for-54) from the field, 7-of-16 (43.8%) from 3-point range and outrebounded its visitors 42-38.

Pace senior Neal Wellington (Wheaton, MD/Good Counsel) scored 18 of his game-high 22 points to lead the Setters in the scoring column. He hit 6-of-15 from the field, 2-of-8 from 3-point range and converted all eight free throws. Gibraltar White (Gautier, MS/Gautier) added 13 points and Desmond Quincy-Jones (Rye, NY/Rye) scored 12 points and grabbed 12 rebounds. Pace shot just 21-of-63 (33.3%) from the field, including a 9-for-30 effort from 3-point range.

Two seniors and a freshman carried the entire Le Moyne scoring load as the Dolphins opened up a 31-27 lead at the intermission. Smith hit four 3-pointers for 12 points, while classmate Pond  added 11 points on a 5-for-6 effort from the floor. Freshman Corbin scored the other eight points of the first half for Le Moyne.

The Dolphins led by as many as 12 points in the second half. Corbin hit a pair of free throws with 8:38 remaining to open up a 58-46 lead. Pace trimmed it to one point, 64-63, on two free throws with two minutes remaining. He scored 11 straight points for the Setters over a stretch of 3:20.

Out of a timeout, Le Moyne scored four straight points on one possession. Cooper banked home a feed from Corbin and missed the ensuing free throw, but sophomore Jason Holmes (Mamaroneck, N.Y./Mamaroneck) captured the rebound to keep the possession alive. Corbin bounced another pass into Cooper who converted the layup to put Le Moyne up 68-63 with 1:22 remaining. Corbin made four free throws in the final 24 seconds to secure Le Moyne's 11th win of the season.

RELEASE COURTESY OF LE MOYNE COLLEGE SPORTS INFORMATION