COLCHESTER, Vt. – Shooting 50 percent from the field in the second half, the Pace University men's basketball team picked up a tightly-contested victory at Saint Michael's College on Saturday night, 68-65. The win improves the Setters' record to 6-14 on the season while moving their conference mark to 2-10.

Inside the Numbers
*Austin Gilbertson (Etters, PA/Trinity) led the Blue and Gold offense with 17 points. The freshman guard scored 15 of his points in the second half, including shooting three-of-four from beyond the arc in the final 20 minutes. Gilbertson has now reached double figures offensively in seven of Pace's last eight contests.

*While Gilbertson was the offensive catalyst in the second half, Greg Poleon (Brooklyn, NY/Abraham Lincoln / Coffeyville CC) led the Setters shooters in the first, scoring half of his 16 points in the first 20 minutes. The junior forward was four-of-six from the field in the opening half. He's now reached the double-figure scoring plateau in six straight contests.

*Peyton Wejnert (Point Pleasant, NJ/Southern Regional) rounded out the top offensive efforts with 13 points. The sophomore forward shot four-of-ten from the field in the game, but was five-of-six on free throws to execute on Saint Michael's foul troubles.

*On the topic of free throws, the Setters shot .857 from the charity stripe, their second highest shooting percentage on free-throw attempts this season. Shooting 18-of-21 overall, the Pace shooters capitalized on their opportunities on the line.

*Poleon was the leading rebounder for a second-straight contest, hauling in nine boards to fall one rebound short of a double-double. The Setters outrebounded Saint Michael's 43-29, with Poleon, Wejnert, and Brandon Jacobs (Cambria Heights, NY/Long Island Lutheran) accounting for 20 of Pace's pickups off the glass.

*Defensively, Ray Montilus (Union, NJ/Pope John XXII) recorded all three of Pace's steals on the night, with none bigger than the one on Saint Michael's inbound in the closing seconds to secure the Setters' win. He now leads the team with 27 takeaways this season.

How it Happened
While the contest ultimately went back-and-forth throughout, the opening six-plus minutes of the game gave a different impression. The Setters opened the game with first eight points of the contest, as the Purple Knights were unable to record a basket until six and a half minutes in. Once Saint Michael's managed to get on the scoreboard, however, their offense came alive, playing to a 14-14 tie with eight and a half minutes left in the half. The Purple Knights would take their first lead of the night a minute later, as momentum shifted on to their side of the court.

The closing seven minutes of the half was controlled mostly by Saint Michael's, who did not trail after taking their lead for the following six minutes. The Setters were able to even up the score twice, eventually reclaiming a 30-28 advantage courtesy of a pair of free throws from both Wejnert and Montilus in the closing minute. Saint Michael's struck last, evening the score at 30-30 with a dunk that would set the stage for an exciting closing half.

The start of the second half was when Gilbertson began to shine, scoring eight of Pace's first 12 points out of the locker room. Gilbertson knotted the score up at 42-42 after hitting his second straight three-pointer at the 13:24 mark. Saint Michael's would retake the lead following a three from Levi Holmes III shortly after, but the Setters jumped back ahead less than two minutes later, going up 48-47 with 10 minutes remaining.

The Setters would build their lead up to as high as six on two separate occasions, but were unable to distance themselves any further from the resilient Saint Michael's squad. After Pace took a 55-49 lead with just under seven minutes to play, the Purple Knights went on an 11-5 run to push the score to 60-60 with three and a half minutes left on the clock. Holmes III hit another three late to give the Purple Knighta ahead by one, but a jumper from Poleon with 59 seconds on the clock, a pair of free throws from Jacobs, and the crucial inbound steal by Montilus sent the Setters home from Vermont with the 68-65 victory.

Up Next
Pace closes out a two-game NE10 road trip on Tuesday when they travel to Stonehill College. The Setters and Skyhawks square off in North Easton, Mass. at 7:30 p.m.