PLEASANTVILLE, N.Y. – Wednesday night, No. 15 Pace men's basketball took down American International College, 86-69, earning their eighth straight victory to begin the 2024-25 season. Double-double performances from Jaden Kealey and Tray Alexander led the way during the in-conference clash as the Setters earned their third win within the Northeast-10 (NE10).

The Blue and Gold improve to 8-0 overall, and 3-0 in the NE10 continuing their dominant stretch to start the season.

Here's What Happened

• In the first half, the Yellow Jackets kept stride with the 15th-ranked Setters as both sides found themselves all square at 33. An 11-3 run fueled by a three-point make from Justin O'Neill helped Pace gain a seven-point advantage, 48-41, heading into halftime.
• AIC shrunk Pace's lead quickly into the second half off an 8-2 run out of the locker room. Alexander answered back with a personal 6-0 run of his own to increase the Setter lead to 60-55.
• Later on, back-to-back makes from Kealey pushed the home squad ahead by double-digits and Pace never looked back the rest of the way.
• Points continued to find the twine for the Blue and Gold down the final stretch extending the advantage to as much as 19 points over the Yellow Jackets.
• In the remaining minutes, the Setters cruised on the way to a commanding 86-69 victory marking the sixth time this season where they have won by 15 or more points.

Box Score Insights

• Kealey thrived in the paint once again following up his career-high performance from Saturday with 25 points and 12 rebounds. The junior has been a reliable scorer for the Setters making 65.9 percent of his field goal attempts through eight games.
• Alexander composed another all-around effort scoring 16 points and dishing-out 11 assists. The Freeport, N.Y. native's double-double highlights his fifth of the year.
• Trey Boyd III recorded a season-high seven helpers to go along with nine points.
• Off the bench, O'Neill netted eight points in eight minutes while Darren Fergus posted eight points.

The Setters return to their home court Saturday at 3:30 p.m. for an in-conference match-up against Saint Michael's College.