Before the Setters squared off against the Skyhawks of Stonehill College, there was a personal milestone for a pass first point guard.
Junior business major Denzel Primus-Devonish became the latest member of Pace’s 3,000 assist club and was honored with a plaque before the game. However on a day of celebration for Primus-Devonish, the final score did not favor the home team.
The Skyhawks swooped in and defeated the Setters 61-58 in the night cap of the white out double header. At no point in the second half was the lead larger than seven points and both teams managed 32 points in the second half.
The fans at the Goldstein Fitness Center were treated to a rare occurrence in the game with 7:39 left to go in the second half. Stonehill’s leading scorer Jack Cole was fed a well executed ally-oop pass from Carter Smith and slammed the ball home to the astonishment of the Setters crowd. Cole totaled 15 points and eleven rebounds on the night and bothered the Setters on the glass and above the rim.
The dunk gave the Skyhawks a seven point lead midway through the second half and seized momentum for the visiting team. Still Pace battled back by forcing mistakes from Stonehill and taking advantage of them.
The Setters forced Stonehill to turn the ball over 20 times throughout the game while only giving the rock up 12 times. Pace also outscored the visiting team 14-11 in points off turnovers on the night.
Although the Setter took better care of the ball than the visiting team, it was the number of missed shots that domed Pace. While Stonehill shot 46 percent from the field throughout the game, Pace only shot 33 percent from the field.
Offensively, the Setters were able to get contributions from three players. Primus-Devonish lea all scorers with 20 points on the night, dished out three assists, and tallied five steals on the night. Pace also got 15 points and eleven rebounds from senior business management major Keon Williams. And junior forward Jonathan Merceus racked up 15 points of his own to balance out the offensive attack.
Yet Stonehill was able to maintain separation thanks to their good bench play. The Skyhawks got a total of 26 points off of their bench compared to just three from Pace.
With the loss the Setters drop to 9-10 on the year with a record of 6-9 in the Northeast-10. The Setters will ship off to Springfield Massachusetts to take on the Yellow Jackets of American International College on Wednesday.