PLEASANTVILLE, N.Y. – Pace University Men's Basketball mounted a furious late comeback on Saturday afternoon but was unable to fully erase an early deficit, falling 75–68 to Saint Michael's College in Northeast 10 action. The Setters trimmed a 22-point second-half margin to one possession in the final minute, but timely free throws by the visitors sealed the outcome as Pace moved to 8–7 overall and 3–4 in conference play.
The Purple Knights set the tone early with efficient shooting and second-chance opportunities, building momentum through the opening stretch. Pace found early offense behind
Jabari Nurse and
Paxton Davidson, with Davidson knocking down a pair of first-half three-pointers, but the visitors steadily extended the margin. Despite strong rebounding efforts from
Jaden Kealey and
Ben Manuel, Pace struggled to find a consistent rhythm offensively and trailed 44–24 at halftime.
Despite the first half woes, the Setters showed renewed energy coming out of the locker room. Kealey scored inside to open the second half, and Davidson followed with another three as Pace began to chip away.
Saif Saleh and
Nathan Robertson added interior finishes to keep the momentum going, trimming the deficit to 56–43 midway through the period.
Pace continued to push down the stretch. Nurse attacked the paint for multiple baskets, and Manuel's work on the glass produced key second-chance points. A late three from Davidson and another from Robertson brought the Setters within one at 68–67 with just over a minute remaining, capping a strong second-half surge that saw Pace outscore Saint Michael's 44–31 after the break. The Purple Knights, however, answered at the free-throw line in the final seconds to close out the tightly-contested contest.
Davidson led Pace with 17 points on 5-of-9 shooting from three-point range, while Nurse added 18 points and six rebounds.
Kealey finished with 10 points and seven rebounds, and Manuel contributed 10 points and eight boards off the bench.
The Blue and Gold return to the Goldstein Fitness Center on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. for an in-conference clash with the Falcons of Bentley University.
