Setters Move Into Tie for Sixth Place with New Haven
WEST HAVEN, Conn.- Denzel Primus-Devonish (Riverdale, MD/St. John's College) (Riverdale, MD/St. John's College) connected on a game-winning three-pointer at the buzzer to lift the Setters to an exhilarating 54-51 victory over the Chargers of New Haven in Northeast-10 Conference action. The Setters move into a tie for sixth place with the Chargers as they improve to 11-10 overall and 9-8 in the NE-10. The Chargers fall to 13-8 and 9-8 in conference play.
In a slow starting opening 10 minutes, the Chargers jumped out to a 10-0 lead. The Setters pulled to within five points on a Kai Smith (Upper Marlboro, MD/St. Mary's Ryken) (Upper Marlboro, MD/St. Mary's Ryken) hoop and a Kevin Clark (Dunmore, PA/Dunmore/St. Johns University) (Dunmore, PA/Dunmore/St. John's Univ.) triple. The Chargers extended their lead to 15-7 but the Setters rallied with a 12-2 run capped off by three free throws by Clark with 36 seconds left to give Pace a 19-17 lead. New Haven got a late basket and the teams headed into halftime tied at 19.
The teams battled early in the second half but the Setters held a slim 34-33 lead following a Primus-Devonish basket. The Chargers used a 7-0 burst to pull ahead 40-34 with just under 10 minutes to play. The Setters chipped away and took a brief 47-46 lead on a put-back by Keon Williams (Hackensack, N J/Hackensack/Iona College) with 3:10 remaining the game.
The game came down to the final minute as Williams tied the game at 49 with a pair of free throws at the 1:02 mark and later he put the Setters up two with a driving lay-up with 19 seconds to play. New Haven answered with jumper at five seconds to set up the final sequence. Primus-Devonish took the ball in the backcourt, driving to the left side and hoisted a high arcing shot that bounced off the glass and into the net as time expired to lift the Setters to a thrilling victory.
For Pace, Primus-Devonish led the Setters with 15 points and three rebounds, while Williams finished with 13 points and seven boards.
The Setters return to action on Wednesday, February 9 as they will host the Owls of Southern Connecticut at 7:30 pm.
