MEN'S BASKETBALL FALLS TO STONEHILL, 60-47, IN NE-10 QUARTERFINALS
PLEASANTVILLE, NY - The 4th seeded Pace University men's basketball team lost to the visiting 5th seeded Skyhawks of Stonehill College, 60-47, in the quarterfinals of the Northeast-10 Men's Basketball Conference Tournament tonight at the Goldstein Health, Fitness & Recreation Center. The Setters end the 2007-08 season with an even 14-14 overall record, while the Skyhawks improve to 18-13 and move onto the semifinals, where they will square off against #1 seed Bentley College.
The first half featured a defensive struggle, as neither team was able to gain much momentum. Pace began the game on a 6-0 run and would eventually push their lead to double digits, as a three-pointer from senior Gibraltar White (Gautier, MS/Gautier) gave the Setters an 11-point lead, 16-5, with 6:49 left in the half. Stonehill would chip away at their deficit using an 11-2 run to make it a two-point game, 18-16, with 3:14 left. Pace would score the final four points in the half to take the 22-16 advantage into the locker room. Freshman Mike Kernan (Medford, NJ) led all scorers for the Skyhawks scoring 10 first half points. He would finish the game with 12.
The second half featured much of the same as both teams struggled from the field. Stonehill took its first lead of the game, 29-28, on a free throw from junior Matt Hall (Springfield, MA) with 15:28 left in the game. After the teams traded baskets back and forth, Pace regained some momentum building a seven-point lead 41-34, on a three-pointer from senior Ryan Williams (Centreville, VA/Paul VI) with 7:42 remaining in the game. The Skyhawks would show their resiliency taking the lead for good using a 20-2 run to put the game out of reach and cruise to the 13-point victory, 60-47. The Setters finished the game shooting 30.3% (20-for-66) from the field, including going just 2-for-23 from beyond the arc and five-for-six from the free throw line. The Skyhawks weren't much better shooting 32.3% (21-for-65) from the field, including 6-for-31 from three and going 12-for-17 from the line. Stonehill also controlled the glass holding the rebounding edge, 48-44.
For Pace, sophomore Laurence McGhee (Linden, NJ/Linden) scored a team-high 12 points, 10 in the second half, to go with four assists and five rebounds. Junior Randy Wilson (Peekskill, NY/Peekskill) recorded a double double with 11 points and a game-high 13 rebounds, while senior Desmond Quincy-Jones (Rye, NY/Rye) brought down 12 rebounds on the night.
Stonehill had three players score in double figures led by junior Nick Smith's (Colonia, NJ) game-high 13 points, all in the second half. Smith also added seven rebounds to his stat line. Kernan finished the night with a double double with his 12 points and 10 rebounds, while Hall also recorded a double double with 10 points and 11 rebounds.
Pace had three 1,000-point scorers on this season's squad as
seniors Williams (1,892), Quincy-Jones (1,247) and White (1,222)
all surpassed the 1,000-point plateau. Williams joined the
1,000-point club last season, while Quincy-Jones and White both
joined the club this season, marking the first time Pace had three
1,000-point scorers on the same team since the 1990-91 season.
Williams finished his four-year career tied for second on the
all-time career points list, sixth on the all-time steals list
(175) and the all-time leader for career three-pointers (340).
Quincy-Jones finished his four-year playing career ranked
16th on the all-time scoring list and fifth on the
all-time rebounds list (767), while also recording 100 career
blocks. White finished his four-year career ranked 19th
all-time in scoring, third all-time in career three-pointers (202)
and 11th all-time in steals (120).