PLEASANTVILLE, NY- Junior Kyle Pearson posted his fifth double-double of the season, including a career-best 19 boards, as the Setters held off a late rally by the Concordia Clippers to take the win 70-66.
 
The Setters improve to 4-9 on the season, while the Clippers drop to 5-7 on the season.
 
Pace found the hot shooting to start the game as they raced out to a 21-4 lead mid-way through the opening half. The Clippers scored the first two points of the game but it was all Setters from that point as Pace netted 18 unanswered points and 21 of the ensuing 23 points in the game to build a double-digit lead. Pearson (7 points) and Mike Demello combined for 13 of the 21 points for the Setters during that stretch.
 
The Setters bulged their advantage to as much as 24 points at 35-11 with 4:51 left in the half following a Demello free throw. The Clippers made a late run, including a bucket with five seconds left but Pace maintained their double digit lead at 40-23 at the break.
 
Pace netted the first five points of the second half behind a Jaylen Mann triple and a pair of free throws by Khalil Brown to stake the Setters to their largest second half lead at 45-23 with 19:07 left in the contest. Concordia slowly chipped away at the Pace lead, closing to three points at 60-57 with 3:39 on the clock. The Setters pushed it back to seven points, aided by two from the charity stripe by Demello and a Mann put-back.  
 
The Clippers scored the next six points to pull to within a point at 64-63 with under a minute to play. On the next Pace possession, Demello found an open Marcus Solomon, who drained a trifecta from the left side of the three-point arc to put the Setters back up by four points. Pearson sealed the deal at the line, going 3-for-4 in the final 12 seconds to put the game out of reach.
 
For the Setters, Pearson's double-double led the way with match his career-best with 25 points and set a career-high with 19 boards. Demello totaled 11 points, seven boards and five assists, while Shelton Mickell chipped in 12 points, four boards and three assists. Mann tallied 10 points and five rebounds, while Brown grabbed six boards. Solomon dished out three assists, finishing with six points and five rebounds.
 
The Setters are off until the calendar flips to 2015 when they will return to Northeast-10 Conference play with a road game at Merrimack College on Wednesday, January 7 at 7:30 pm.