Stonehill Teams Best Pace Basketball

The following announcements were submitted by the Pace University Department of Athletics. To learn how to post your news on Patch, click here.

Men

PLEASANTVILLE, N.Y.- The Setters fell to the Skyhawks  of Stonehill College 61-58 in Northeast-10 Conference action. Pace falls to 9-10 overall and 6-9 in the NE-10, while the Skyhawks improve to 10-9 and 6-9 in conference play.

The Setters jumped out to an 8-2 lead as Denzel Primus-Devonish (Riverdale, MD/St. John's College) netted six of the Pace's eight points in the first five minutes of action. Stonehill rallied as they scored the next 15 points to take a 17-10 lead and pulled ahead by as much as 12 points with 5:57 left in the half. Pace answered with a 14-5 run to close out the half capped off by three free throws by Primus-Devonish with :00 on the clock as he was fouled on a three-point attempt as time expired in the first half to pull the Setters to within three points at 29-26 at the break.

The Skyhawks extended their lead to seven points early in the second half but pulled to within a point at 34-33 on a pair of Keon Williams (Hackensack, NJ/Hackensack/Iona College) free throws. Stonehill maintained a slim lead over the next four minutes but pushed their lead to 54-45 with 4:36 left in the game. The Setters proceeded to chip away as they pulled to within a point at 59-58 with :11.8 seconds left on a Primus-Devonish triple. Stonehill hit a pair of free throws in the final seconds to hold on for the win.

For the Setters, Williams posted a double-double with 15 points and 11 rebounds, while Primus-Devonish led all scorers with 20 points along with four boards, three assists and five steals.Jonathan Merceus (Union, NJ/Union) totaled 15 points, six rebounds and three steals.

The Setters will travel to Springfield MA to face the Yellow Jackets of American International College on Wednesday, February 6 at 7:30 pm.

Women

Pleasantville, N.Y.-The Setters fell in overtime to the Skyhawks of Stonehill College 50-54 in conference play at Goldstein Fitness Center.  The Setters fall to 10-9 overall and 8-7 in the NE-10 while the Skyhawks advance to 17-2 overall and 13-2 in conference play. 

Brittany Shields (Cold Spring, NY / Haldane) made the pivotal layup to tie the score with 0.09 seconds to go in regulation to send the Setters into overtime.  The Setters fell early into overtime but were right in it till the end as Shields made a free-throw with 0.07 seconds to go to make the score 50-53.  Mary Louise Dixon converted on a free-throw to solidify the win 54-50.  The Skyhawks shot 2-4 from the field and 4-8 from the line in OT while the Setters finished 1-9 from the field and 2-4 from the line. 

The Setters out-shot the Skyhawks 24-22 in the paint, 9-6 on second-chance attempts and 17-6 from the bench in 45:00 of play.  The Setters went 19-67 from the field, 3-17 from three-point range and 9-18 from the free-throw line while the Skyhawks finished at 19-59 from the field, 6-23 from the outside and 10-16 from the line. 

Yuni Sher (Poughkeepsie, NY / Long Island Lutheran) led the Setters in scoring with 14 points on 6-14 from the field and added six rebounds.  Shields finished with 10 points, nine rebounds and three assists while Allison Cleary (New Windsor, NY / Cornwall Central) contributed nine points and nine rebounds.  Jessica Scannell (Cork, Ireland / St. Vincents) rounded out with six points, six rebounds and three assists. 

Tori Faieta led the Skyhawks with 16 points and 11 rebounds while Asia Ewing came not far behind with 11 points, 12 rebounds and four assists.  Dixon added 11 points and nine rebounds. 

Despite the loss, the Setters made an impressive second-half effort, taking the lead by one on a jumper by Sher, 44-43 with .41 seconds to go.  The Setters had their largest lead of the game halfway through the second half, by two points on a jump-shot from Sher.  The Setters kept within five points throughout the entire start of the half in attempt for that lead. 

Pace out-shot the Skyhawks in the second half 14-8 in the paint, 7-2 on second-chance attempts and 12-3 off the bench. 

Both teams started the game off aggressively allowing no more than a six point differential in the first fourteen minutes of play.  The Skyhawks took their largest lead of the game at 6:49 on a triple by Paige Marshall.  The Setters tried to chip away but the Skyhawks managed to maintain a seven point lead with 3:38 to go in the half.  Cleary connected on a triple with 2:46 to go to bring the Setters within four points before the Skyhawks answered with .34 seconds to go into halftime ahead, 25-19. 

The Setters travel to take on the Yellow Jackets of American International College Wednesday, February 6 for a 5:30 pm conference match-up.