WOODS FREE-THROW WITH .4 SECONDS LEFT GIVES SETTERS IMPROBABLE COMEBACK WIN OVER SOUTHERN CONNECTICUT, 58-57
PLEASANTVILLE, N.Y.- The Pace University men's basketball
team won an exciting 58-57 Northeast-10 Conference battle against
the Owls of Southern Connecticut State University on a snowy
Wednesday night at the Goldstein Fitness Center.
The win improves the Setters to 7-12 overall and 5-9 in the Northeast-10. The loss drops the Owls to 1-19 on the season with a 0-15 mark in conference play. Pace is now 5-6 at home this season.
The Setters started ice-cold on the offensive end to start the game as they missed 20 of their first 22 shots from the field. Pace tried to pound it inside, and shoot it from the outside but nothing seemed to go down for the Setters in the first half. The Owls used the Setters offensive struggles to their advantage as they took a 21-7 lead, with 5:21 left in the first half. Things turned around offensively for the Setters in the final five minutes of the first half as they went on a 16-2 run. The run featured six different Setters scoring a basket including a Laurence McGhee (Linden, NJ/Linden) three-pointer to end the Pace run. McGhee's three wound up tying the score at 23-23 with 1:10 left in the first half. Pace went into the half trailing by three at 26-23. Pace shot only 22 percent in the first half, while the Owls shot 48 percent from the field in the first half.
Pace took their first lead of the game at 38-37 after the second of back-to-back three's by Wesley Dunning (Laurel, MD/Gonzaga High) with 15:37 left in the game. The teams would go on to trade baskets over the next 12 minutes as no team could take a lead bigger than four points in that stretch. The score would again be tied at 55 after an Adrian Mills (Woodbridge, VA/Paul VI) layup with just under three minutes left in the game. A jumper by Southern Connecticut's Preston Bell gave the Owls a two point lead at 57-55 with 33 seconds left. Mills again stepped up for the Setters as he made a tough layup with 22 seconds left to tie the game at 57-57. The play of the game came on the next Owl's possession as McGhee's suffocating defense drew a five second call against Southern Connecticut. The key turnover gave the ball back to Pace for a chance to win it with 10 seconds left in the game. Pace's Ryan Woods (Staten Island, NY/Saint Peter's) took a three-pointer with one second left but was fouled on the shot. Woods made one of three free-throws to put the Setters ahead by one with one second left. Southern Connecticut heaved it down court for a prayer but it fell short, and Pace would escape with a one point win.
Pace was led by Mills who had a team-high 13 points on 5-of-13 shooting, while grabbing two rebounds. Dunning also had a solid game for the Setters as he had nine points, four rebounds and a key block. Pace shot 43 percent in the second half, and wound up shooting 32 percent from the field for the game. Free-throw shooting was a key in the game for the Setters as Pace made 14 free-throws, while the Owls only made three.
The Setters are back in action on Saturday, January 31 as they hit the road to take on Saint Rose College. Tip-off is scheduled for 1:30 p.m.
