MANCHESTER, N.H. -- The Pace University men's basketball fell just shy of an upset over No. 2 seed Saint Anselm on Sunday afternoon at the Stoutenberg Gym, losing 78-70 in the Northeast-10 Conference quarterfinals. 

The No. 7 seeded Setters had won both earlier meetings against the Hawks, 77-56 on Feb. 1 in Manchester and 74-47 at home on Nov. 22. 

Five Setters scored in double-figures with senior forward Bryan Powell (Middletown, N.Y./Canterbury School) leading the way with 18 points. Grad guard/forward Adonis Williams (Spring Valley, N.Y./Brooks School / Adelphi) netted 13 with freshman guard Jabari Nurse (Randolph, Mass./New Hampton Prep), senior guard Brandon Powell (Middletown, N.Y./Pine Bush / FDU), and senior forward Frankyn Batista (Barahona, Dominican Republic/Hyde / AIC) each contributing 10 each. Junir guard Lyron Bennett (Boston, Mass./Tech Boston / Southern Connecticut State) served as the Setters' rebound leader with eight. 

Despite the loss in the NE10 quarterfinals, Pace has put together an impressive resume as the NCAA championship selection looms a week away. For the second-straight year, the Setters amassed 20 wins and prior to this week's 2-1 record the Blue and Gold were ranked sixth in the East Region. In the regional report, Pace is marked with five wins over Division II ranked teams. Bentley leads the regional rankings with Saint Anselm right behind. The NCAA selection show is Sunday, March 5 at 11 p.m. on NCAA.com. 

The Setters (20-10) shot 20-for-24 from the free throw line. 

Until end of the second half, Saint Anselm held onto a 10-point lead. With just under 10 minutes to play, the Setters found their stride and rallied back from a 63-54 deficit to lead 67-66 with 4:20 left.  A 3-ball by Powell with under four to play gave Pace their largest lead of the game, 70-67.

A few missed opportunities and foul shot chances by Saint Anselm gave the Hawks back control. Pace missed two three-point shots down the stretch to tie it at 73.

Fouls and a tech at the end gave Hawk Miles Tention the ball and the foul line at the end and he made all four shots to extend the Saint Anselm lead to 78-70 and take the quarterfinal win. For Saint Anselm, Tyler Arbuckle led with 23 points.