EASTON, Mass. – Senior forward
Kyle Pearson (Woodbridge, NJ/Woodbridge / Fairleigh Dickinson University) scored 20 points on 8-of-11 shooting (72.7 percent) as the Pace University men's basketball team rallied late on Saturday against Stonehill College, but the comeback bid fell short as the Setters ran out of time. The Setters dropped an 84-78 decision to the Skyhawks at the Merkert Gymnasium in Saturday's Northeast-10 Conference matchup, making them 7-11 on the season and 4-6 in NE-10 play. The Skyhawks improve to 13-4 with the win, and 8-3 against conference opponents.
Pearson's 8-of-11 outing was the best shooting percentage of his two-year career as a Setter. His 20 points also match a season-high. Pearson pulled down a team-high nine rebounds to narrowly miss fourth double-double of the year.
Pace trailed by 15 points at 78-63 with under four minutes to play in Saturday's contest. The Setters ramped it up late to make it a close game down the stretch. Sophomore guard
Bryan Rivers (West Windsor, NJ/Peddie School), who finished with a team-high 21 points, made a jumper at 3:41 to kick-start the late rally. Pearson then grabbed a rebound on a Stonehill miss, leading to a fastbreak layup for senior guard
Shelton Mickell (Queens, NY/Cardozo / Central Connecticut State) to get back within 11.
The Setters drew an offensive foul on Stonehill's Carter Smith to get the ball back quickly. Pearson capitalized by finishing a tough layup and drawing a foul, leading to a three-point play. Ryan Logan put the Skyhawks back up by double figures by making two free throws the next time down the court.
Mickell turned the ball over on the next possession, but quickly made up for it by taking it right back and drawing a foul. He made just the second of two foul shots, but the Setters were now back within nine with two minutes to play. Rivers later drew a foul as well, and also made just one of two chances with 1:04 on the clock.
The Skyhawks' lead got back to 10 after Isaiah Bess made two chances from the charity stripe, but Rivers drew another foul and made two of his own to make it an eight-point game again at 82-74. Rivers then stole the ball quickly after the inbound, eventually leading to a good jumper by Pearson to get the Setters within six. Mickell copied Rivers with another quick steal off the inbound, and nearly made a layup while getting fouled. He went on to make both chances to make it a four-point game with 26 seconds left.
The Setters were unable to steal the ball on the next inbound, forcing them to foul Ryan Roach and send him to the line. Roach made both chances to make it a six-point Skyhawk lead once again. Freshman forward
Ryan Peterson (Wethersfield, CT/St. Thomas More) tried to make two tough threes in the final seconds, but neither was able to go as time ran out for the Setters.
Peterson was the third Setter in double figures on Saturday, netting 14 points while also grabbing eight rebounds. Rivers added four assists to his team-high 21 points.
Logan led the Skyhawks with 16 points and 10 rebounds for a double-double in Saturday's matchup. Bess matched Logan with 16 points off the bench, while Carter Smith and Adam Bramanti each netted 15.
The Setters held the edge in points-off-turnovers (19-17), second-chance points (17-13) and points in the paint (44-34) as they played well against a challenging Stonehill team. They also held a 37-32 advantage in rebounds, including 15 on the offensive boards.
After two long road trips this week, the Setters will head back home to host Bentley University in an NE-10 contest at the Goldstein Fitness Center on Wednesday, Jan. 20. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. immediately following the women's matchup between the Setters and Falcons.
For all information regarding Pace University men's basketball log on to
www.PaceUAthletics.com and follow Pace men's basketball on Twitter (
@PaceMBB).
