A strong second-half rally was not enough to get the home team a win for their fans.
Pace put up 46 points in the second half, but still they fell to the Owls of Southern Connecticut State University 84-75 on Wed.
When the Owls got their shots, more than half of them found the bottom of the net. Southern Connecticut State shot 52 percent on the night while the Setters shot only 42 percent. The Owls also were able to make it rain from downtown as they went 10-18 from three while the Setters went 6-28 on the night.
It was not just the shooting that the Owls did better than Pace that night, for they also managed to share the ball more. While junior business major Denzel Primus-Devonish led the Setters with seven assists, the Owls as a team put up 23 assists compared to 15 from Pace.
There were two statistical areas that the home team took advantage of. Pace managed to force the Owls to turn the ball over 17 times while only giving up the ball 10 times. Also, the Setters were able to put up 42 points inside the painted area compared to just 30 from the Owls.
The leader of the Setters post-attack was senior business management major Keon Williams. Williams led the Setters in scoring with 14 points on the night while shooting 7-9 from the field. Pace also got an inside boost from junior forward Jonathan Merceus who had eight points of his own and added three rebounds.
Still, the Owls were able to put more points on the board than the home team. Southern Connecticut’s leading scorer, Trevon Hamlet, put up 24 points while three other Owls put up more than 10 points. The Setters only had three players in double figures on the night and nobody had more than 14 points.
Perhaps the most productive member of the Setters on Wed. came off the bench. Freshman undecided major Jaylen Mann provided 10 points and seven boards for the home team. Mann also managed to lead the Setters in rebounds on a night when the Owls brought down 44 total rebounds compared to Pace’s 30.
With the loss, the Setters fall to 3-3 on the season with a record of 1-3 in the NE-10. As of today, the Setters sit two spots from the bottom in the NE-10 standings. The Setters will be taking a two-game road trip to visit the Panthers of Adelphi and the Mavericks of Mercy College next week.