PLEASANTVILLE, N.Y. – The Pace University men's basketball team was defeated in their first game against the Northeast-10 Conference's Northeast Division, falling to Southern New Hampshire University on Wednesday night by a score of 81-78. The defeat shifts the Setters to 10-5 overall this season, including a 4-3 mark inside the NE10.

Inside the Numbers
*Junior Peyton Wejnert (Point Pleasant, NJ/Southern Regional) led Pace's attack for a third consecutive game, pouring in a game-high 24 points on 11-of-16 shooting. He also registered seven rebounds and a steal.

*Tyrone Cohen, Jr. (Woodside, NY/Christ the King / Holy Cross University / Broward College) made five of Pace's seven three-pointers en route to recording a season-high 19 points. He also made his mark with five offensive rebounds, a block and a steal.

*Brandon Jacobs (Cambria Heights, NY/Long Island Lutheran) and Austin Gilbertson (Etters, PA/Trinity) joined in with double-figure outputs. Jacobs tallied 15 points and nine assists while Gilbertson posted 10 points and five boards.

*The Blue and Gold nabbed a season-best 21 offensive rebounds on the way to earning a 37-33 edge on the boards. Senior Luke McLaughlin (Blauvelt, NY/Tappan Zee) led Pace with eight rebounds, grabbing four on each end of the court.

*Pace and SNHU combined to attempt 61 three-pointers in the contest. The Setters finished 7-of-34 from beyond the arc, while the Penmen went 10-for-27.

How it Happened
A tightly played first half featured red-hot shooting from Southern New Hampshire, and a dominant effort on the boards for Pace. The Penmen shot over 57 percent from the field in the opening frame, while the Setters out-rebounded SNHU by a 22-12 margin. Pace attempted 11 more shots than Southern New Hampshire.

Each team earned leads of six points in the first half, but neither was able to seize complete control. A pair of free throws from Ray Montilus (Union, NJ/Pope John XXII) gave Pace a 27-21 lead, but a quick 7-0 spurt put SNHU up 28-27 with less than five minutes to play. After Wejnert tied the score at 37-37 with 1:50 left, the Setters and Penmen exchanged three-pointers over the final 24 seconds to send the game into halftime all square at 40-40.

The back-and-forth nature of the first half spilled over after the break. Pace and SNHU stayed within five points of each other during the entirety of the second half. The Setters took their final lead at 71-69 with 3:47 left before a 6-0 run from SNHU earned the visitors a 75-71 edge. The Penmen then took a 77-72 edge with 2:00 minutes remaining.

Pace would go on to cut the advantage to 77-75, but that would be as close as it would get. Cohen Jr. had a chance to give the Setters when they got the ball back still trailing by two, but he was unable to connect from long range with a little over a minute left. Four consecutive free throws ultimately gave SNHU an 81-76 lead with just 15 ticks left.

Up Next
The Setters will hit the road for their upcoming two games, beginning with a matchup against Merrimack College on Saturday afternoon (3 p.m.).