SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – The Pace University men's basketball team scored more than double its first-half performance in the second frame of Wednesday evening's game to fuel the Setters to a 70-60 defeat of American International College (AIC) in Northeast-10 Conference play at Butova Gymnasium. The Setters improve to 3-4 overall and 2-1 in NE-10 games, while AIC drops to 0-6 on the year and 0-4 in conference.
After totaling 21 points in the first half, the Setters came out firing and scored 49 after the break, outscoring the Yellow Jackets by 12 to pick up the 10-point victory. Freshman guard
Ryan Peterson (Wethersfield, CT/St. Thomas More) put a scoreless first half behind him and nailed four three-pointers in the second half to total 12 points on the night. Sophomore guard
Bryan Rivers (West Windsor, NJ/Peddie School) attempted 11 free throws in the second half and totaled nine points to help the Setters ice the game at the end. He led the team with 15 points on the evening.
Both teams had a rough time finding the bottom of the net to start Wednesday's conference matchup, as the game was tied at 4-4 more than five minutes in. AIC was the first to reach double-digits in the game, taking an 11-7 advantage on a three by Trahmier Burrell with 10:30 to play in the frame. The Setters trailed by as many as eight before the half, but fought back to close out the half trailing by two at 23-21.
The second half opened up much like the first, with both teams struggling to score in the opening minutes. The Yellow Jackets held the lead through the first five minutes, but the momentum took a big swing when seniors
Kyle Pearson (Woodbridge, NJ/Woodbridge / Fairleigh Dickinson University) and
Shelton Mickell (Queens, NY/Cardozo / Central Connecticut State) hit back-to-back threes to take a 35-30 lead over AIC.
After a timeout, AIC managed to string six straight points together, but it was not long before the Setters turned the tables once again. A jumper plus an and-one free throw for sophomore forward
Victor Jusino (Morris Plains, NJ/St. Peter's Prep) capped off a 10-0 run for the Setters that left them up, 45-36, with under 10 minutes to play.
The Yellow Jackets got back within six with 7:58 on the clock, but a three by Peterson brought control back to the Setters and led them to an 8-0 stretch to take a 14-point edge. Peterson's final three of the game at the 2:17 mark gave the Setters their largest lead of the game at 16 points, and they held on in the final minutes for the 10-point win.
Jusino followed Rivers with 14 points on the evening, Peterson added seven boards to his 12 points, and junior forward
Austin Mofunanya (Englewood, NJ/Dwight Morrow / Lincoln College of NE) banked 11 points and five rebounds.
AIC was paced by Cameron Dobbs, who scored 15 points on the night. Burrell recorded a double-double with 10 points and 11 boards in the game.
After shooting 25 percent (8-of-32) in the first half, the Setters turned things around and shot 66.7 percent (16-of-24) in the second stanza. They also made 6-of-10 threes in the final 20 minutes.
Riding the momentum of a big conference win, the Setters are set to take on the University of New Haven on Saturday, Dec. 5, at the Goldstein Fitness Center. The game is scheduled for a 3:30 p.m. tip-off, following the women's matchup preceding it.
For all information regarding Pace University men's basketball log on to
www.PaceUAthletics.com and follow Pace men's basketball on Twitter (
@PaceMBB).
