ALBANY, N.Y. – Freshman guard
Ryan Peterson (Wethersfield, CT/St. Thomas More) drained a game-high five three-pointers, but it was not enough to help the Pace University men's basketball team in a Northeast-10 Conference matchup against the College of Saint Rose on Tuesday. The Setters fell to the Golden Knights, 78-65, and drop to 2-3 on the year and 1-1 against the Conference. Saint Rose improves to 4-1 on the season and a perfect 3-0 in the NE-10.
Peterson went 5-of-9 (55 percent) from long distance in Tuesday's loss, including 4-of-5 in the second half. He finished the night with a team-high 16 points, as well as seven rebounds and two assists.
The opening minutes of the game went back-and-forth, and senior forward
Kyle Pearson (Woodbridge, NJ/Woodbridge / Fairleigh Dickinson University) put the Setters on top, 6-5, at the 16:24 mark. A jumper by Pharroh Gordon on the Golden Knights' next possession put them up 7-6, and put the home team ahead for the long run.
Later in the first frame, a three by Pearson cut the deficit to four at 22-18, but five-straight points by Saint Rose left the Setters trailing by nine with fewer than five minutes before the break. The Golden Knights expanded their lead to 38-27 heading into halftime.
Trailing 63-50, Peterson hit one of his four second-half threes at the 5:45 mark to cut the deficit to 10. Freshman forward
Luke McLaughlin (Blauvelt, NY/Tappan Zee) then hit a jumper to get the Setters back within single digits, but a three by Saint Rose's Gordon halted the Setters' rally. Pace was unable to string together another run, falling 78-65.
Pearson kept a solid start to the season going with 15 points and eight rebounds in Tuesday's matchup. Senior guard
Shelton Mickell (Queens, NY/Cardozo / Central Connecticut State) tallied nine points and dished out a team-best six assists.
Saint Rose was led by Julian Lipinski, who totaled 16 points on the evening. Tyler Sayre and Anthony Russell followed with 14 points apiece.
The Setters won the rebounds battle, 33-30. This includes 13 offensive boards, which helped the Setters take a 14-9 advantage in second-chance points.
The Setters will look to bounce back when they host Concordia College (N.Y.) in non-conference action at the Goldstein Fitness Center on Sunday, Nov. 29. Tip-off is set for 1:30 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).
