PLEASANTVILLE, N.Y.- The Setters posted their fourth win in a row as Pace defeated the Golden Knights of Saint Rose 73-63 in Northeast-10 Conference action. Pace moves into a tie for fifth place in the NE-10 with the win as they improve their record to 13-10 overall and 11-8 in the NE-10. The Golden Knights fall to 5-18 and 5-14 in conference play.
The Setters came out firing early as they held Saint Rose off the board for the first seven minutes as they build an 18-0 lead. Pace held a double-digit lead for most of the half as they were in the lead at 29-11 with seven minutes to play. The Golden Knights rallied over the final seven minutes as they used an 18-2 run to close the half as the Setters held a slim three-point advantage at 32-29 at the break.
Saint Rose tied the game to start the second half on an Andre Pope triple but the Setters rallied with an 18-2 run to build a 48-34 lead midway through the half. Keon Williams (Hackensack, NJ/Hackensack/Iona College) (Hackensack, NJ/Hackensack/Iona College) started the run with a three-point play and scored nine points in the run, while Kevin Clark's (Dunmore, PA/Dunmore/St. Johns University) (Dunmore, PA/Dunmore/St. John's Univ.) capped it with three free throws.
The Golden Knights chipped away and pulled to within three points at 57-54 with 4:18 left in the game. The Setters answered as Kai Smith (Upper Marlboro, MD/St. Mary's Ryken) (Upper Marlboro, MD/St. Mary's Ryken) connected on a trifecta, while Williams converted a three-point play to put the Setters back up by nine points with just over two minutes remaining in the game. Pace held off Saint Rose down the stretch to post their fourth win in a row.
For Pace, Williams led the way with a double-double as he finished with a game-high 21 points and 10 rebounds (seven offensive). Justin Alston (Bronx, NY/St. Raymond) (Bronx, NY/St. Raymond) just missed a double-double as he totaled 11 points and nine boards along with four assists, while Clark netted 13 points (7-for-7 at the free throw line). Denzel Primus-Devonish (Riverdale, MD/St. John's College) tallied 12 points, seven rebounds and five assists in the win.
The Setters return to action on Tuesday, February 14 when Pace will travel to Garden City, NY for a Northeast-10 Conference game against Adelphi University at 7:30 pm.
