WELLINGTON BREAKS STEALS RECORD, PACE BEATS SCSU,
66-61
PLEASANTVILLE, NY – The Pace University men’s
basketball team defeated Southern Connecticut State University,
66-61, in a Northeast-10 Conference match-up at the Goldstein
Fitness Center on the Pleasantville campus of Pace
University. The Setters improve to 8-6 overall and 5-4 in the
Northeast-10 Conference. Southern Connecticut drops to 3-8
overall and 1-7 in conference play.
Pace led at the half, 29-28, despite shooting 30% (12-40) from the
floor including 26.7% (4-15) from 3-point range. Ryan
Williams (Centreville, VA/Paul VI) had nine points in the
first frame while senior guard Neal Wellington (Wheaton,
MD/Good Counsel) had two points, five assists and four
steals. Wellington’s fourth steal broke the Pace
men’s basketball all-time record of 218 previously held by
Rodney Reese who played from 1986 to 1990. For Southern
Connecticut, Ktrice McNeill (Bronx, NY/ E. Stroudsburg No.) led all
first half scorers with 12 points and five rebounds.
Pace held the lead until the 10 minute mark of the 2nd
half when Deshawn Summers (Brooklyn, NY/ Lincoln) scored on a
fastbreak off an outlet pass from Devon Sullivan (New Windsor, NY/
Cornwall) to give SCSU a 51-50 lead. They would push their
lead to six points before a pair of free throws by Wellington at
the seven minute mark cut the lead to four at 56-52.
Wellington then picked up his fifth steal of the game and scored on
a full court drive to bring the Setters within two.
After a missed 3-pointer by Wellington, McNeill got the offensive
rebound and then scored on the ensuing possession to push the lead
back to four. Williams would hit the second of two free
throws and would then knock down a 3-pointer to tie the game after
Desmond Quincy-Jones (Rye, NY/ Rye) broke up a
Southern Connecticut fastbreak with just under five minutes to
play. Wellington’s free throws with just over a minute to
play gave Pace a lead of 66-61, which would end up being the
final.
Williams finished with a team-high 18 points, as well as five
assists and four steals. Wellington had 11 points, seven
assists and six steals while Quincy-Jones had eight points, 11
rebounds, three blocks and three steals.
For SCSU, McNeill finished with a game-high 30 points and 10
rebounds while hitting on 12-of-18 from the floor and 6-of-7 from
the free throw line. Sullivan totaled 11 points and eight
rebounds while Alex Gambino (Huntington Station, NY/ Long Island
Lutheran) had nine points, six rebounds and five blocked shots.
Pace returns to action on Saturday, January 14, 2006 when they host
Southern New Hampshire University at 3:30 p.m. at the Goldstein
Health, Fitness and Recreation Center on the Pleasantville campus
of Pace University.