MEN'S BASKETBALL RALLIES PAST MERRIMACK
99-94
PACE'S WILLIAMS NETS CAREER HIGH 31
PLEASANTVILLE, NY- The Pace University men's basketball team rallied to defeat the Warriors of Merrimack College in a Northeast-10 Conference match-up, 99-94, at the Goldstein Health, Fitness and Recreation Center on the Pleasantville campus of Pace University. The Setters improve their overall record to 9-8 overall and 5-4 in the NE-10, while the Warriors fall to 3-11 overall and 2-7 in conference play.
Pace jumped out to an early advantage as Desmond Quincy-Jones (Rye, NY/Rye) and Ryan Williams (Centreville, VA/Paul VI) led the Setters to a 23-12 lead midway through the opening period. Quincy-Jones netted nine points in the run, while Williams scored seven. Merrimack rallied with an 18-8 run to cut their deficit to two at 37-35 with just under five minutes left in the first half. Gibraltar White (Gautier, MS/Gautier) and Williams pushed the Setter lead to seven with 3:20 remaining. The Warriors rallied nailing four three-pointers down the stretch to take a 51-44 lead into the break. Gerry Corcoran nailed a pair from long range to rally the Warriors.
Merrimack continued their solid play from the end of the first half, extending their halftime lead to 72-59 midway through the final period. Williams led the Setters back with three three-pointers during a 19-6 run that eventually tied the score at 78 with 8:15 left in the game. After exchanging baskets over the next three minutes, the score was again knotted at 84 with just under six minutes remaining in the game. Randy Wilson (Peekskill, NY/Peekskill) hit a jumper at the 5:37 mark to put the Setters ahead for good but the Warriors continued to keep the pressure on as the Setters' lead remained slim the rest of the way. Williams continued his hot shooting, hitting another key three-pointer, along with a two-pointer to keep Pace ahead in the final minutes of play, to give the Setters a hard-fought come-from-behind victory.
For Pace, Williams finished with a career-high 31 points, to go along with five rebounds, while shooting 12-for-20 from the field and 7-for-12 from the outside. Quincy-Jones tallied 19 points and five boards, while Carlos Howard (Fort Washington, MD/Gonzaga High) netted 17 points and tied for the game-high in assists with eight. Wilson chipped in 12 points and six boards, while Oneil Morgan (Kingston, Jamaica/Excelsior) grabbed a team-high eight rebounds.
For the Warriors, Corcoran finished with a team-high 28 points, while grabbing seven rebounds off the bench. Kenny Jones recorded a double-double with 24 points and boards, while Darren Duncan and David Kennedy each netted 12. Duncan also tallied seven rebounds.
The Setters return to action on Tuesday, January 9 when they
travel to New Haven, CT to take on Northeast-10 Conference foe
Southern Connecticut State University for a 7:30 tip-off.