MANCHESTER, NH – Fifth seed Pace Men's Basketball made their first ever appearance in the Northeast-10 (NE10) Championship Saturday afternoon at two seed Southern New Hampshire University in Manchester, NH.

In a whirlwind of a championship event, the game was forced into extra minutes after back-to-back treys on both sides, but it was the Penmen who had the final say when they drilled a last second three for the 72-71 Setter defeat.

Here's What Happened:

• The contest started with a 5-2 Blue and Gold run led by Darren Fergus, who has had a tremendous postseason for the Setters. SNHU captured the 8-5 advantage, but Trey Boyd III gave the Setters a two-point lead 10-8 soon after.
• Later on in the first, Jaden Kealey made it a four-point game, 24-20, after a bucket in the paint. The Penmen pointed the score in their favor, 29-24, moments later, but at the end of the first, Fergus netted a three for a 35-33 advantage at halftime.
• The second half of play was just as eventful as the first. Within a minute of opening the half, SNHU took the 36-35 lead then Pace on a Tray Alexander jumper, 37-36, to then the hosts taking back a 39-37 lead.
• As the score read 49-42, it would be the largest lead of the game for the Penmen. A 9-3 Blue and Gold run by Alexander, Boyd III, and rookie, Jayden James, put the Setters within one, 51-52 and Alexander eventually equalized the score at 55. Kealey broke the Penmen advantage from the charity stripe, 56-55, with five and a half minutes remaining.
• Throughout the final minutes of regulation, the score flipped flopped between both teams and almost ended with a Boyd III bucket from behind the arc for a 64-61 advantage with under a minute left in the day. The Penmen drilled a trey of their own for another score tie, 64-64, and overtime has commenced.
• Jabari Nurse opened extra minutes with a jumper, 66-64, followed by Alexander with a driving layup, 68-66. After Alexander's marker, both teams would go cold until under a minute remained in the extra frame. The Penmen snagged the 69-68 lead from the free throw line and Boyd II went 2-3 from the line himself to give the Setters back their 70-69 advantage. Another Boyd III freebee gave the squad a two point lead, but in just the final seconds of the game, SNHU netted a long range bucket for the 72-71 victory over the Setters.

Box Score Insights:

• Alexander, who made All-Tournament team, led the charge with 16 points and six assists while Boyd III was second on the team with 13 points and shot 67% (2-3) from the three point line.
• Nurse and Fergus finished with 12 points apiece while Nurse tallied a double-double when he grabbed 12 rebounds.
• Kealey recorded 10 points and 9 rebounds.
• Throughout the contest, there were 19 lead changes and 11 score ties.

Pace Men's Basketball, who is ranked #22 in the nation, will be awaiting the NCAA Selection Show which is set to occur Sunday night, Mar. 9, at 11:00pm ET.