NEWARK, Del. – The Pace University men's basketball team hit the road for the first time in the 2016-17 campaign on Wednesday to take on Wilmington University (Del.). The Setters fell to the Wildcats, 75-65, in non-conference action at the WU Athletics Complex.
HOW IT HAPPENED
FIRST HALF
- The Wildcats took claim to a lead in the early minutes of the game, but the tables turned when sophomore
Ryan Peterson (Wethersfield, CT/St. Thomas More) drained a three at the 14:24 mark to give the Setters an 11-10 advantage.
- Peterson's three was part of a 9-0 run for the Setters that saw them go up, 15-10.
- Wilmington turned it around to take a 17-15 lead, but that did not lost long, as junior
Bryan Rivers (West Windsor, NJ/Peddie School) tied the game on a layup the next time down the court.
- The Wildcats regained momentum to run out to a 27-20 advantage, pushing the lead to 11 points late and taking a 37-26 edge into the half.
SECOND HALF
- Pace started the second frame by scoring on its first six possessions, cutting the deficit to just four points.
- At the 9:34 mark, junior
Victor Jusino (Morris Plains, NJ/St. Peter's Prep) sank a layup to make it a 51-48 game in favor of the home team.
- Wilmington's Omari Dill-Pettiford gave the Wildcats a seven-point lead at 8:36, but redshirt sophomore
Mike Demello (Mohegan Lake, NY/White Plains) nailed a three to get back within four.
- Wilmington's lead grew back up to 10 with 4:39 to play after a dunk by Tajee Almon.
- The Setters battled late, getting back within six on a three by grad student
Christian White (Rochester, NY/Aquinas Institute / Syracuse University) with 1:10 left in regulation, but they ran out of time, eventually falling by 10.
SETTER STATS
- Jusino led Pace with 16 points on the evening.
- Rivers tallied 11 points and dished out a team-high four assists.
- White netted 10 points, including a pair of threes.
- Senior
Austin Mofunanya (Englewood, NJ/Dwight Morrow / Lincoln College of NE) pulled down a team-best nine rebounds, also scoring eight.
- Demello hit a pair of threes and finished with eight points.
WILDCAT LEADERS
- Tyaire Ponzo-Meek scored a game-high 18 points.
- Nick Richards registered a double-double with 10 points and 11 boards, also passing out a game-high five assists.
- Dill-Pettiford picked up 13 points and six rebounds off the bench.
RECORDS
- Pace: 2-1
- Wilmington: 3-0
UP NEXT
- The Setters hit the road once again to open up Northeast-10 Conference play this weekend at Le Moyne College in Syracuse, N.Y.
- Pace will take on the Dolphins at 2 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 19.
For all information regarding Pace University men's basketball log on to
www.PaceUAthletics.com and follow Pace men's basketball on Twitter (
@PaceMBB).
