Box Score RINDGE, N.H. -- The Pace men's basketball team won its seventh straight game on Saturday afternoon, with a 68-66 win at Franklin Pierce at The Fieldhouse. With the win, the Setters, who are receiving votes in the latest D2SIDA national poll, advance to 13-3 overall, 5-3 in the NE10.
The last five of the Setters' games have been decided by six or fewer points, with two decided in overtime. Four of the fix games were three-point margins.
Junior guard
Lyron Bennett (Boston, Mass./Tech Boston / Southern Connecticut State) led the Blue and Gold with 15 points, adding six assists to his stat line. Senior forward
Frankyn Batista (Barahona, Dominican Republic/Hyde / AIC) and senior guard
Bryan Powell (Middletown, N.Y./Canterbury School) added 12 points each. Batista pulled down a team-high nine boards in the win with three steals. Bennett played all 40 minutes.
With the loss, Franklin Pierce falls to 7-7, 3-5 in the NE10.
The game was tied nine times with 15 different lead changes.
Pace shot 45.1 percent (23-for-51).
Franklin Pierce went into the locker room at halftime up 33-31.
Bryan Powell (Middletown, N.Y./Canterbury School) netted a three-pointer with 21 seconds in the half to cut the Setter deficit in half. Franklin Pierce turned it over on the inbound giving Pace back possession but a Bennett just missed a three to go ahead with nine seconds to go.
With less than three minutes to play, Pace had its largest lead of the game, 65-59, on a
Brandon Powell (Middletown, N.Y./Pine Bush / FDU) 3-ball assisted by Bennett.
The Ravens cut the Setters lead to two, 65-63, on a three-pointer from Franklin Pierce junior forward Sean Bresnan with 1:27 left.
After grabbing a defensive rebound and breaking toward the Setter basket, Batista was fouled with 19 seconds remaining and hit the first of two free throw opportunities, giving Pace a 66-63 lead.
Seconds continued to tick off the game clock as Pace added two more free throws to go up 68-63 with one second remaining in the game.
Raven sophomore guard Mohamed Traore scored a three for Franklin Pierce as time expired putting the final score at 68-66. Traore had 19 points to lead the Ravens, with Bresnan scoring 17. Bresnan went 5-for-8 from beyond the arc.
Pace continues on in NE10 action and is back on the Setters' home court on Tuesday, Jan. 10 for the second game of a doubleheader against American International College. Tip time is scheduled tentatively for 7:30 p.m.
