PACE RUNS PAST OWLS IN OT 81-73
NEW HAVEN, CT- The Setters had four players score in double figures le by Ryan Williams (Centreville, VA/Paul VI) with 18 as the Setters needed overtime to defeat the Owls of Southern Connecticut 81-73, snapping their four-game skid. The Setters improve to 9-13 and 8-9 in the Northeast-10, while Southern Connecticut drops to 6-16 and 2-15 in conference play.
Southern Connecticut's Derrick Corbett came out raining threes' as he hit four trifectas in the first six minutes of play as the Owls built a 14-7 lead early on in the game. The Setters would battle back and tie the game at 18 as Laurence McGhee (Linden, NJ/Linden) nailed a jumper with 7:09 left in the half. The teams would stay even the rest of the way and a three-ball by Gibraltar White (Gautier, MS/Gautier) with four seconds left sliced the Owl lead to one and Pace would trail 28-27 at the break.
The Setters made their run early in the second half as they used a 19-8 run capped off by a three-bomb by Carlos Howard (Fort Washington, MD/Gonzaga College High), giving Pace a 50-38 lead with 11:33 left in the game. The Owls would cut the Setters lead to six but a three-pointer by White would eventually extend the Pace lead back to 11 at 57-46 with 6:46 left in the game. The Owls would rally with a 9-3 run to cut their deficit to three with just under four minutes to play. Down the stretch, McGhee and White would both hit 1-of-2 from the free throw line, giving Pace a 65-61 lead with 15 seconds left in the game. Devon Sullivan would nail a three, putting the Owls down by one. White would go 2-for-2 from the line with six seconds to go but a buzzer beating three-pointer by Andrew Zito would tie the game at 67 and force an extra period.
In overtime, the Setters and Owls would trade baskets over the first two minutes but a lay-up by Jon Jones (Dover, NH/Bridgton Academy) with 1:57 left in OT put the Setters up 74-72. The basket kicked off a 7-1 run to close it out as Jones would score seven of the Setters 14 points, including going 5-for-6 from the free throw line. McGhee would ice the game with his two free throws with seven-tenths of the a second left in the game, giving Pace the OT victory.
For Pace, Williams finished with a team-high 18 points on 6-for-11 shooting and 3-for-5 from downtown. McGhee tallied 16 points and six assists, while Howard totaled 14 points and three boards. White netted 14 points, while grabbing five boards and dished out three assists. Desmond Quincy-Jones (Rye, NY/Rye) grabbed a team-best eight rebounds.
For Southern Connecticut, Corbett hit eight three-pointers, finishing with 25 points, while Sullivan posted a double-double with 21 points and 10 boards. Trevor Harris also recorded a double-double with 15 points and 11 assists, while grabbing eight caroms.
Pace returns to action when they host the Purple Knights of
Saint Michael's College on Saturday, February 16 in a Northeast-10
Conference clash at the Goldstein Fitness Center scheduled for a
3:30 pm tip-off.