MANCHESTER, NH- Pace MBB’s season came to an end Saturday in an 83-57 defeat to The University of New Haven Chargers.

Both teams learned of their seeding last Sunday, March 5th. Pace was ranked 5th and New Haven got the 4th seed. The Setters lost 56-50 on January 21st in the NE-10 conference competition. Both teams traveled to the host institution, Saint Anselm College, also from the NE-10. This time the stakes were much higher.

Pace began the first half in front. They took an early 8-3 lead. It was immediately relinquished when New Haven went on a 13-2 run and went ahead 16-10 at the 10:58 mark. Few stops would come between either the Setters or Chargers. The six-point lead remained single digits for New Haven up to the 3:07 mark when senior forward Tyler Perry hit one of his 9 3-pointers for the game to make it 36-24 in New Haven’s favor.

The difference would remain at 12 at halftime. The Chargers led the Setters 43-29 into the break.

The Chargers picked up where they left off. They began the half with a four-minute, 8-2 scoring run to make it 51-31. The lead would never shrink under 17 for the remainder of the game. It would instead increase. New Haven had their largest lead at 29 points when Majur Majak, the  NE-10 Defensive Player Of The Year, got a dunk at the 5:05 mark.

The Setters meanwhile, took most of the half to break 50 points. It was an offensive struggle all second half, and their defense could not get them back from the deficit. All things combined for a first-round exit for Pace.

Brandon Powell had 19 points, 4 rebounds, and 2 assists in his final game. Bryan Powell, who also played his last game scored 14 points and collected 2 rebounds. Graduate Marc Dadika’s career ended on Saturday, he finished with 13 points and 4 rebounds.

The defeat begins a long off-season for the Setters who fell short of exacting last year’s progress. Next year should bring a new look, as 7 players are either seniors or graduate students.