FLUSHING, N.Y. – The Pace University men's basketball team opened the 2015-16 campaign on Friday, participating in the first day of the ECC/NE-10 Challenge, hosted by Queens College in the Fitzgerald Gymnasium. The Setters faced off with host Queens in their first matchup of the weekend, and the two teams battled back and forth, forcing overtime. Queens came out on top after the extra period, 78-76.
Senior guard
Shelton Mickell (Queens, NY/Cardozo / Central Connecticut State) nearly ended the game at the buzzer at the end of the second half, but his jumper was no good, sending the game to overtime. Queens' Diego Maldonado put the first points on the board in the extra period with a three-pointer just 12 seconds in. They scored again on their next possession to take a five-point advantage. The Setters finally cut into the deficit when sophomore forward
Victor Jusino (Morris Plains, NJ/St. Peter's Prep) sank a layup with 3:36 left to play.
It took two minutes before either team managed to score again. The Knights went back up by five when Tyree White hit a layup with 1:34 left in the period. Jusino then went to the line, and made both of his shots to cut the difference back to three. Simon Green drew a foul for Queens on the next possession, and made both chances.
With 34 seconds to play, Mickell drained a three to leave the Setters down, 76-74. Another two free throws for the Knights put them back up by four with 12 seconds on the clock. Mickell made a layup with one tick left on the clock, but it was not enough for the Setters to come back.
The Setters held a slim 39-37 lead after the first half. Freshman guard
Ryan Peterson (Wethersfield, CT/St. Thomas More) got his season off to a hot start, registering 14 points in the first 20 minutes. Mickell also added 10 for the Setters.
Queens responded by outscoring the Setters, 30-28, in the second frame to tie the game at 67-67. The Knights held the lead late in the period when Mohamed Dansoko made a layup to put them up, 66-62. Peterson hit a trey to get the Setters back within one with 1:32 to play, and Dansoko made a free throw to make the Knight advantage two. Jusino hit a layup with 48 seconds left to tie, and that ended the scoring for the half.
Mickell led the Setters with 19 points in the game, while Peterson followed with 17. Senior forward
Kyle Pearson (Woodbridge, NJ/Woodbridge / Fairleigh Dickinson University) grabbed a game-high six rebounds.
Queen was led by White, who scored a game-high 21 points. Maldonado tallied 20 on the evening, while Kyheim Chaplin added 15.
The Setters shot an impressive 55.3 percent (26-of-47) on the evening, including 9-of-19 from three-point range (47.4 percent). They were also good on 83.3 percent for their free throws (15-of-18). The Setters outrebounded their hosts, 29-24.
The Setters will look to bounce back on Day 2 of the ECC/NE-10 Challenge when they face off with Dowling College at 4 p.m.
For all information regarding Pace University men's basketball log on to
www.PaceUAthletics.com and follow Pace men's basketball on Twitter (
@PaceMBB).
