NEW YORK, N.Y. – A total of 13 three-pointers, led by a combined 11 by sophomore
Ryan Peterson (Wethersfield, CT/St. Thomas More) and redshirt sophomore
Mike Demello (Mohegan Lake, NY/White Plains), fueled the Pace University men's basketball team to its first Northeast-10 Conference victory of the season on Wednesday, a 77-66 victory over American International College (AIC) at the Civic Center Gym on Pace's New York City campus.
HOW IT HAPPENED
FIRST HALF
- AIC got on the board first when Tahlib Swan hit a jumper 13 seconds into the game, but the Setters quickly ran down the court, and graduate student
Christian White (Rochester, NY/Aquinas Institute / Syracuse University) fed Peterson for his first three of the game to give Pace an early lead.
- 90 seconds later, Demello drained his first of the game, putting the Setters on top, 6-2.
- Swan hit a three of his own at the 17:28 mark, but Demello responded with his second just 13 seconds later to make it a 9-5 game.
- The Yellow Jackets battled back within two at 9-7, but White joined the party with a three to make it 12-7 in favor of the Setters.
- Carrying a five-point advantage, freshman
Ray Montilus (Union, NJ/Pope John XXII) hit another three for Pace with 12:38 left in the first half, giving the Setters a 21-13 edge.
- AIC fought back, eventually taking a 26-25 lead after Bruce Spruell made a jumper in the paint.
- The lead did not last long for the Yellow Jackets, as Peterson sank another long ball to go back up by two.
- With 3:41 left before halftime, Peterson did it another, hitting another triple to make it 31-26.
- Senior
Austin Mofunanya (Englewood, NJ/Dwight Morrow / Lincoln College of NE) closed out the scoring in the first half with a pair of free throws, leaving Pace with a 33-26 advantage heading into the locker room.
HALFTIME LEADERS
- Peterson hit a trio of threes in the first half and led all scorers with 11 points.
- Mofunanya added six points and a game-best five rebounds in the opening frame.
- Swan hit a pair of threes to lead AIC with eight points at the half.
SECOND HALF
- It took nearly three minutes, but the Setters once again caught fire from long distance in the second half.
- At the 17:18 mark, Demello nailed one to make it a seven-point game.
- Just 30 seconds later, Peterson hit his fourth of the game to give the Setters a 42-34 lead.
- Demello changed things up at the 15:18 mark by driving through the lane and sinking a layup, but Peterson got it going once again with a three the next time down the court to push Pace's lead to 15.
- Demello missed a three the next time down the court, but he followed it up to grab the rebound, eventually leading to yet another one from beyond the arc for Peterson.
- Playing with the lead for the entirety of the second stanza, Pace slowed things down until AIC was able to get back within six points at the 5:43 mark.
- White got the Setters back on track with a layup, and then Demello drew a foul and hit both chances from the line to get Pace back up by 10.
- After four straight points for the Yellow Jackets, Demello halted the short run with a trey to go back up by nine.
- As if that was not enough, Demello hit yet another three-pointer on Pace's next possession to push the lead back out to 10 with just 2:34, helping Pace hang on for an 11-point victory.
SETTER STATS
- Demello set a new career-high with 25 points in the win on Wednesday, which included 5-of-7 shooting from long distance.
- Peterson was close behind with 21 points thanks to 6-of-11 shooting from three-point range. His six threes are a new single-game high for the sophomore.
- Mofunanya finished up with 10 points and a team-high eight rebounds.
- White fed his teammates all night long, dishing out a season-high nine assists to go along with eight points on the evening.
YELLOW JACKET LEADERS
- Bruce Spruell led the visitors with 16 points on the evening, and tied with Jayvon Pitts-Young for a team-high three assists.
- Pitts-Young scored 13 points, all on free throws after going 13-of-15 from the charity stripe.
- Zekiah Owens tallied 11 points and five boards off the bench.
RECORDS
- Pace: 4-3 (1-2 NE-10)
- AIC: 2-6 (0-4 NE-10)
UP NEXT
- The Setters travel to the University of New Haven for another NE-10 matchup on Sunday, Dec. 4. 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).
