WEST HAVEN, Conn. – Freshman
Peyton Wejnert (Point Pleasant, NJ/Southern Regional) had the best game of his rookie season so far on Sunday, tallying 13 points and 10 rebounds while logging a season-high 34 minutes on the court for the first double-double of his career, as the Pace University men's basketball team dropped a close Northeast-10 Conference matchup on the road at the University of New Haven by a score of 65-59.
HOW IT HAPPENED
FIRST HALF
- The Setters fell behind early on, traling 14-6 by the 14:08 mark after Roy Kane, Jr. hit a jumper for New Haven.
- A few minutes later, a layup by sophomore
Ryan Peterson (Wethersfield, CT/St. Thomas More), followed by a three by graduate student
Christian White (Rochester, NY/Aquinas Institute / Syracuse University) made it a two-point game at 16-14.
- With the game tied up at 19-19, White hit another three with 4:46 on the clock, giving Pace a three-point advantage.
- The Chargers responded with two point, but sophomore
Luke McLaughlin (Blauvelt, NY/Tappan Zee) put one through the hoop while drawing a foul, and completed a three-point play to make it 25-21 in favor of Pace.
- The Chargers closed out the half on an 8-0 run, taking a 32-29 lead into the break.
HALFTIME LEADERS
- White led the Setters with nine points at the half after going 3-of-3 from long range.
- Wejnert had seven points and five boards at the break.
- Elijah Bailey and Joseph Doganiero matched White for a game-high nine points at halftime.
SECOND HALF
- Trailing by three just over a minute into the period, redshirt sophomore
Mike Demello (Mohegan Lake, NY/White Plains) drained a three for Pace to tie the game at 34-34.
- New Haven then scored on its next three of its next four possessions to take a seven-point lead.
- The Setters then erased the deficit after Peterson sank a three to tie the game at 41-41.
- Peterson then followed it up with another three the next time down the court, putting the Setters on top by three.
- Senior
Austin Mofunanya (Englewood, NJ/Dwight Morrow / Lincoln College of NE) then swatted away Kane, Jr.'s shot attempt, leading to a fast-break layup for junior
Bryan Rivers (West Windsor, NJ/Peddie School) to put the Setters up by five with 11:52 to play.
- A three-point play for New Haven at the 7:56 mark tied the game at 48-48.
- With 5:09 on the clock, Peterson hit another big three to give the Setters at 55-50 advantage.
- New Haven's Michael Bourke came down the court and hit a jumper, but White then drew a foul and made both shots to once again make it a five-point game.
- New Haven's Danny Upchurch scored twice in a row to get the Chargers back within one, but Wejnert put two points back on the board for Pace to make it a 59-56 lead for the Setters with 2:25 left in regulation.
- Upchurch responded with another score to make it a one-point game once again with 2:06 on the clock.
- Upchurch managed to score once again after a miss by Pace to give the Chargers a 60-59 lead with the clock reading 1:33.
- After another miss for the Setters, Upchurch drew a foul and made just 1-of-2 free throws to make it a two-point game.
- The Setters were unable to score the next time down the court, and Bourke made a fast-break layup to take a four-point lead.
- The Setters tried twice to hit contested threes to make it a one-point game, but were unable to get either to go, eventually falling by six at the final buzzer.
SETTER STATS
- Peterson almost joined Wejnert with a double-double, scoring a team-high 17 points and grabbing eight rebounds.
- White added 13 points and a pair of assists.
- Demello dished out a team-high three helpers.
CHARGER LEADERS
- Upchurch tallied a game-high 20 points and four assists.
- Bailey added 12 points.
- Kessly Felizor and Mihailo Vasic both matched Wejnert with a game-best 10 rebounds.
RECORDS
- Pace: 4-4 (1-3 NE10)
- New Haven: 4-4 (2-3 NE10)
UP NEXT
- The Setters return home on Wednesday, Dec. 7, to host Southern Connecticut State University in NE10 action at the Goldstein Fitness Center. Tip-off is slated for 7:30 p.m. following the women's matchup.
- Wednesday will also be LGBTQ Pride Hoops Night at the Goldstein Fitness Center, with the first 300 fans in attendance receiving Pride Hoops t-shirts.
For all information regarding Pace University men's basketball log on to
www.PaceUAthletics.com and follow Pace men's basketball on Twitter (
@PaceMBB).
