PACE WINS A NAILBITER OVER
SOUTHERN CONNECTICUT 70-69
WOODS NAILS FREE THROWS WITH 12 SECONDS LEFT TO GIVE SETTERS THE
WIN
NEW HAVEN, CT. – The Pace University men’s basketball team got their first NE-10 conference win of the year in thrilling fashion over the Owls of Southern Connecticut State University by a score of 70-69. Pace improves to 2-2 on the season and 1-1 in the NE-10; while the Owls drop to 0-5 on the season and now have a 0-3 mark in-conference. This marks the end of a four game road trip to start the season for the Setters as they finish up with a 2-2 record.
The Setters came out of the gates rolling, hitting six of their first eight shots, starting the game on a 19-7 run. Adrian Mills (Woodbridge, VA/Paul VI) was the main reason for the Setters fast start as he was on fire early on netting 12 points during that stretch. Pace then hit a cold streak as they missed 11 of their next 12 shot attempts. The Owls took advantage of Pace’s shooting woes as they built up a five point lead 28-23 with six minutes left in the first half. Pace rallied behind Mills 18 first half points to take the lead back going into halftime with a score of 36-33.
The second half was very competitive as both teams were playing at a high level trading baskets for most of the half. Pace turned up the defensive intensity in the second half in the paint, and on the perimeter, as they forced Southern Connecticut to commit 13 turnovers. Delroy Daley (Bronx, NY/Saint Raymond) did a good job of controlling the paint defensively for the Setters as he was very active inside having two blocks, a steal, and altered several Owl shots in the second half. With most of the second half being a close, hard fought battle neither team could pull away as the score was 68-67 Pace with 1:09 left in the game. Southern Connecticut then went on to make a tough layup which made the score 69-68 Owls with 49 seconds left. This is where the freshman Ryan Woods (Staten Island, NY/St. Peters Boys) came up huge for the Setters late in the game. Woods playing injured, as he turned an ankle in the previous game against Adelphi, was fouled with about 12 seconds left. He calmly sank both free throws to give Pace the lead back 70-69. The Owls went on to miss a three pointer on their next possession with about three seconds left to seal the win for the Setters.
Pace was led by Mills who finished with a game and season-high 26 points with a lot of that coming from the free-throw line as he was 10-of-11 from the line. The Setters also got a huge game from Daley who finished with eight points, six rebounds, two blocks, and a steal.
The men return to action as they come home to play its home opener on Sunday, November 30 against Saint Rose College with a tip-off scheduled for 3:30 p.m.
