PLEASANTVILLE, N.Y. – Senior forward
Kyle Pearson (Woodbridge, NJ/Woodbridge / Fairleigh Dickinson University) tallied a team-high 17 points, but the Pace University men's basketball team was unable to beat the buzzer, falling to Wilmington University (Del.), 62-61, Wednesday evening in the Setters' home opener at the Goldstein Fitness Center. The Setters fall to 1-2 on the year with the loss, while the Wildcats jump to 2-1.
Pearson's 17 match his performance from Saturday's victory over Dowling College. He added four rebounds and two assists on the evening.
Neither team led by more than six points in Wednesday's contest, leading to an exciting finish down the stretch. Wilmington's Brian Adkins made a three with 3:40 left in the second half to put the Wildcats up, 57-56, and followed it up with a dunk on a fast break after a steal by Tyaire Ponzo-Meek to give the visitors a three-point edge. The Setters came right down the court, and Pearson sank a trey to tie the game at 59 apiece with under three minutes to play.
More than a minute passed before sophomore forward
Victor Jusino (Morris Plains, NJ/St. Peter's Prep) made a layup off an offensive rebound to put the Setters in the lead by two, but Ponzo-Meek answered just 16 seconds later with a three to give the Wildcats a 62-61 advantage. With the shot clock running down, freshman guard
Ryan Peterson (Wethersfield, CT/St. Thomas More) tried a three from the corner, but it was no good. The Setters ended up with the ball after it was tipped out of bounds by the Wildcats, giving them another chance to take the lead with 50 ticks on the clock.
Jusino tried a layup from in close, but it would not go down. Pearson came up with the ball, and let some clock run off before attempted a jumper for the lead. His shot hit off the front of the rim, leading to another offensive board by senior guard
Shelton Mickell (Queens, NY/Cardozo / Central Connecticut State). Mickell tried to quickly lay it in, but he, too, was unable to get it to go, and the Wildcats finally came up with a rebound.
After a couple Wildcat timeouts, sophomore guard
Bryan Rivers (West Windsor, NJ/Peddie School) fouled Ponzo-Meek, sending him to the line for a 1-and-1. The first shot was no good, and the Setters ended up with possession and calling timeout with the clock reading 7.2. The Setters quickly advanced the ball up the court, and Rivers had the ball at the elbow with two defenders bodying him. He tried to get a shot up, but it fell short as the buzzer sounded.
Peterson turned in another solid effort in his third collegiate game, totaling 14 points, including a pair of threes, and five rebounds. Rivers scored 11, pulled down seven boards and dished out a team-high five assists. Mickell led the Setters with 10 rebounds, contributing seven points and a steal as well.
Adkins led the Wildcats with 20 points on a game-high four three-pointers. Ponzo-Meek added 14 and team-bests with nine rebounds and six helpers.
The Setters shot 21-of-56 (37.5 percent) from the field on Wednesday, while Wilmington made 34.8 percent (23-of-66) of its field goals. Pace was nearly perfect from the charity stripe, making 13-of-14 free throws (92.9 percent).
The Setters outrebounded their guests, 42-37, and also outscored the Wildcats in the paint, 26-20. Wilmington got a boost from 10 threes, while the Setters made six on the evening.
The Setters will remain home this weekend, as they host Le Moyne College in Pace's Northeast-10 Conference opener at the Goldstein Fitness Center. The game is set to tip off at 3:30 p.m. following the Pace vs. Le Moyne women's basketball matchup.
Saturday will also be Military Appreciation Day at the Goldstein Fitness Center, where active military and veterans will receive free admission and priority seating for both games with military identification. Fans in attendance will receive a military style Pace Athletics draw-string bag and Pace Athletics dog tags while supplies last.
For all information regarding Pace University men's basketball log on to
www.PaceUAthletics.com and follow Pace men's basketball on Twitter (
@PaceMBB).
