PLEASANTVILLE, NY - Pace Men's Basketball hosted Bentley University at the Goldstein Fitness and Recreation Center Saturday afternoon for Military Appreciation Day.

Bentley entered the day receiving votes from the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) to possibly become nationally ranked, while the Setters were receiving regional votes and was the only undefeated team in the Northeast-10 (NE10). The Blue and Gold would remain undefeated by the end of the contest when they toppled the Falcons 73-61.

Here's What Happened:

• Bentley held their first two leads of the game on their first two buckets, 2-0 and 4-2, but once the Setters took the 6-4 lead on a Tray Alexander floater, it was the Blue and Gold who maintained the lead for the remainder of the day.
• Reaching the halfway point of the first, the Setters defense dominated the hardwood where Darren Fergus ignited a fast break with a block that ultimately led Jamaal Waters to a layup for the 21-11 lead over their opponents. Fergus would make it an 11 point game from the charity stripe, 25-14, but by the end of the first Bentley cut the Setter lead to nine, 40-31. 
• Jabari Nurse, Jaden Kealey, and Josh Hopson ignited the second for the Setters with the largest lead of the day at 14, 48-34. But, don't count Bentley out yet. The team battled back and eventually tied the score at 53, however, that would be the final equalizer of the contest.
• Soon after the Falcon draw, an 11-0 Setter run propelled the hosts back out in front thanks to the trio of Nurse, Alexander, and Kealey. As time winded down, the Falcons were able to get the Setter advantage down to seven, but a dagger three from Trey Boyd III put the squad back up by 10, 69-59, and the event ended with the Setters running away with the 73-61 lead.

Box Score Insights:

• Alexander and Nurse ended the day with 16 points apiece to lead the team while Alexander had 12 assists and Nurse eight rebounds.
• Kealey posted 15 points going 6-7 (86%) from the field and Fergus had nine going 2-4 (50%) from the long range.
• The Blue and Gold shot 51% (28-55) from the field with 32 points happening inside the paint and 13 on fast breaks.

UP NEXT: UNIVERSITY OF NEW HAVEN
Pace Men's Basketball (4-0 / 1-0 NE10) will continue their NE10 schedule on the road next Wednesday, 11/20, when they match up against the University of New Haven at 7:30pm.