PLESANTVILLE, N.Y.-Sophomore Denzel Primus-Devonish (Riverdale, MD/St. John's College) (Riverdale, MD/St. John's College) led the Setters with 20 points and three assists as Pace came up short to the Spartans of Saint Thomas Aquinas 62-60 in non-conference action. The Setters fall to 6-5 overall, while the Spartans improve 3-7 overall.

The Setters fell behind 7-2 early in the first half but battled back to tie the game at seven on Primus-Devonish three-pointer. The Spartans and the Setters would battle back and forth for  most of the half with both teams holding slim leads. The Setters took their largest lead of the game on a pair of fast-break lay-ups by Primus-Devonish and Adrian Mills (Woodbridge, VA/Paul VI) (Woodbridge, VA/Paul VI) gave the Setters a 31-26 lead with 14 seconds left in the half. Saint Thomas Aquinas answered as James Ockimey hit a three pointer at the buzzer to slice the Pace lead to 31-29 at the break.

In the second half, the Setters pushed their lead to four points at 37-33 with 16:28 left in the game. The Spartans used an 8-0 burst to jump into the lead at 41-37 with 13:32 remaining in the game. Pace would stay within reach the rest of the way as they trailed by as many as six points with 1:41 left in the game.  

The Setters made a run as Primus-Devonish hit a pair of free throws and a fast-break lay-up to pull Pace to within two points at 59-57 with 59 seconds on the clock. After a Spartan turnover, Keon Williams (Hackensack, NJ/Hackensack/Iona College) (Hackensack, NJ/Hackensack/Iona College) headed to the line with 11 seconds left in the game and hit 1-of-2 at the line. The team traded points as the Spartans hit 2-for-2 at the line, while Primus-Devonish scored on a lay-up with four seconds on the clock and Saint Thomas Aquinas up 61-60. The Spartans hit 1-of-2 at the line and Primus-Devonish half-court shot was off at the buzzer as the Setters fell by two points.

For Pace, Primus-Devonish had 20 points and three assists, while Williams posted a double-double with 14 points and 15 rebounds. Jonathan Merceus (Union, NJ/Union) also chipped in with 10 points, and seven rebounds.

The Setters return to action on Tuesday January 3 as they travel Colchester, VT to take on Northeast-10 opponent St. Michael's College at 7:30 pm.