PLEASANTVILLE, N.Y. – In a battle between the top-two teams in the NE10 Southwest Division, the Pace University men's basketball squad tallied a 69-57 win over Adelphi on Wednesday night. The Setters' 12^th conference triumph (12-5) pushes their overall record to 16-8 this season.

It was another stellar defensive outing for the Blue and Gold as they extend their current winning streak to five games in a row.

Pace's defense, which limited Adelphi to 19-of-50 (38%) shooting from the field, has now allowed fewer than 60 points across four straight games. The Setters also matched a season-high with 11 steals, while forcing 16 Panther turnovers.

Pace's relentlessness was especially prevalent in the first half as they yielded just 23 points en route to a 12-point lead at the break.

Adelphi was able to cut the edge to five with just 7:10 remaining before a 13-2 run from Pace ended all notions of a comeback.

Graduate forward Dominick Cristiano (Valhalla, N.Y./Kennedy Catholic/Greens Farm Academy) led Pace's spirited effort with a game-high 23 points on 10-of-12 shooting. Wednesday marked Cristiano's second 20-plus performance of the season, the other coming against USciences (29 points) on Nov. 17.

Junior Brandon Powell (Middletown, N.Y./Pine Bush) joined Cristiano in double figures with 14 points, in addition to recording five rebounds, three steals and two blocks. Powell has now posted double-digit points in 12 consecutive games.

Pace's graduate guards Austin Gilbertson (Etters, Pa./Trinity) and Brandon Jacobs (Cambria Heights, N.Y./Long Island Lutheran) each chipped in nine points to round out the majority of scoring. Jacobs also dished out a game-high seven assists to up his average to 5.7 per game this season (t-3rd in the NE10).

Up Next
The Setters travel to AIC on Saturday afternoon (3:30 p.m.) for a matchup against the Yellow Jackets.