SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – The Pace University men's basketball team fought back from an early second half deficit to make it a one-possession game late, but the Setters were unable to take the lead, falling on the road to American International College (AIC), 78-69, in Saturday's Northeast-10 Conference matchup. The Setters and Yellow Jackets split the 2016-17 season series.
HOW IT HAPPENED
FIRST HALF
- The opening frame went back-and-forth, as neither team was able to pull away from the other.
- AIC took the largest lead of the first half when Justin Daniel hit a three with 11:05 left to go up, 18-13.
- Sophomore
Ryan Peterson (Wethersfield, CT/St. Thomas More) quickly followed up with a three, and freshman
Peyton Wejnert (Point Pleasant, NJ/Southern Regional) later hit a layup to tie the game.
- The Setters were able to take a 25-22 lead late in the first, but AIC's Kassim Kaba tied things up once again with a three.
- Tahlib Swan then added another triple for the Yellow Jackets to go up by three once again.
- Trailing 30-27 with 1:42 to go, graduate student
Christian White (Rochester, NY/Aquinas Institute / Syracuse University) drained a long ball to tie the game.
- Kaba hit one last three with 34 seconds to play, but a buzzer-beating jumper by freshman
Ray Montilus (Union, NJ/Pope John XXII) left the Setters down 33-32 heading into the break.
HALFTIME LEADERS
- Senior
Austin Mofunanya (Englewood, NJ/Dwight Morrow / Lincoln College of NE) led all scorers at the break with 13 points, adding seven rebounds as well.
- AIC's Jayvon Pitts-Young scored 11 of the Yellow Jackets' first 15 points, but remained at the total through halftime.
SECOND HALF
- AIC opened up the second half with a 17-7 run over the first five minutes, taking a 50-39 lead with 14:48 to go.
- The Setters fought back, turning it around to the tune of a 13-6 run to get within four with 10:46 still left on the clock.
- AIC led 65-60 with 6:39 to play, but a three-point play by freshman
Vinny Dalessandro (Levittown, PA/Conwell-Egan Catholic) made it a two-point game with 5:25 on the clock.
- Rasheed Howard's tip-in for AIC's 65th point proved to be the home team's final field goal of the game, as the Yellow Jackets scored their final 13 points all on free throws, steadily improving their lead to hold on for a nine-point victory.
SETTER STATS
- Mofunanya finished with 17 points and nine boards to lead the Setters.
- Wejnert scored 12 of his 16 points in the second half.
- White and Peterson each finished with 13 points, while White led all scorers with six assists.
YELLOW JACKET LEADERS
- Pitts-Young led all scorers with 24 points after going 12-of-13 from the free-throw line.
- Howard finished with a double-double with 13 points and 11 rebounds.
RECORDS
- Pace: 7-18 (4-13 NE10)
- AIC: 10-16 (4-14 NE10)
UP NEXT
- The Setters hit the road once again on Wednesday, Feb. 15, when they visit the College of Saint Rose in Albany, N.Y. for another NE10 matchup. Tip-off is set for 7:30 p.m. following the women's contest.
For all information regarding Pace University men's basketball log on to
www.PaceUAthletics.com and follow Pace men's basketball on Twitter (
@PaceMBB).
