WORCESTER, Mass. – Despite battling back from an early 14-point deficit to tie the game in the second half, the Pace University men's basketball team fell just short of Assumption College on Saturday afternoon, 74-67.

Inside the Numbers
*Sophomore Peyton Wejnert (Point Pleasant, NJ/Southern Regional) led the Pace attack with 18 points and nine rebounds. He finished the game 5-of-8 from the field and 8-for-11 from the free-throw line.

*Ray Montilus (Union, NJ/Pope John XXII) and Greg Poleon (Brooklyn, NY/Abraham Lincoln / Coffeyville CC) each supplemented the Setters' offense with double-digit efforts of their own. Montilus tallied a season-high 15 points, while Poleon chipped in 10. Montilus also posted a career-best six steals, to go along with three assists.

*As a team, the Blue and Gold tied a season-high with 10 steals. Pace and Assumption each finished the game with 30 rebounds.

*Facing an eight-point halftime deficit, the Setters outscored Assumption by a 34-33 margin in the second half.

*The Blue and Gold failed to make an attempt from three-point range, finishing the game 0-for-9. On the other side, Assumption capitalized on 12-of-22 shots (54.5 percent) from beyond the arc.

How it Happened
The Greyhounds came out of the gates red hot, knocking down eight of their first 11 shots from the floor, including four three-pointers. Assumption's accurate start led to a 21-8 lead less than seven minutes into the contest. The Setters settled down nicely, however, battling back with some efficient offense of the own. A layup from Montilus cut the advantage to single digits at the 7:11 mark while an and-one from Wejnert slimmed it to 39-33 with 2:11 remaining. Assumption would make the final basket of the half to go into the break ahead 41-33.

The end-of-first-half momentum carried over for Pace to begin the second as the Setters hopped out of the locker room on a 14-6 run to tie the game at 47-47. Defense was the focal point during the stretch, with Assumption scoring just six points over the first seven-plus minutes of the half. The Greyhounds, however, would respond with a 14-1 run of their own to reclaim a 61-48 lead. Assumption knocked in four three-pointers within a two-and-a-half minute span.

Down by 13 with nine minutes to go, Pace once again climbed back. The road squad cut Assumption's edge to just three at 65-62 following a steal from Wejnert and a subsequent lay-in from Brandon Jacobs (Cambria Heights, NY/Long Island Lutheran). With a little over three minutes remaining, that would be as close as Pace would get. The Greyhounds knocked in 10 consecutive free throws to close out the game.

Up Next
The Setters return to the Goldstein Fitness Center on Wednesday night to host Saint Anselm College at 7:30 p.m.