Alston leads Pace men's hoops to victory in Vermont: Daily Sports Digest, Jan. 5, 2011

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Pace Rallies in the Second Half to Defeat Saint Michael’s

Thanks to the Pace University Sports Information Department for the below submissions:

COLCHESTER, Vt.- The Setters rallied in the second half to defeat the Purple Knights of Saint Michael’s College 67-61 in Northeast-10 Conference men's basketball action Jan. 3. Pace improves to 7-5 overall and 5-3 in the NE-10, while the Purple Knights fall to 4-7 and 3-5 in conference play.

Saint Michael’s built a 21-11 lead midway through the first half but the Setters answered with a 7-0 burst to close to within 21-18 with just over eight minutes to play.

The Purple Knights would answer pull ahead 31-20 but the Setters rallied to close the gap. Kai Smith (Upper Marlboro, MD/St. John’s College) and Justin Alston (Bronx, NY/St. Raymond) hit a pair of triples, while Jonathan Merceus (Union, NJ/Union) hit a lay-up off a rebound at the buzzer pulled Pace to within eight points at 33-25 at the break.

The Setters opened the second half strong as they closed to within five points at 39-34 three minutes into the half. The Purple Knights answered to take a 47-34 lead with 14 minutes to play in the game. Pace rallied with a 10-2 run as Kevin Clark (Dunmore, PA/Dunmore/St. John’s Univ.) hit a pair of triples and two free throws to pull the Setters to within five points at 49-42 with 10:52 left in the game

Pace continued to chip away with an 11-1 run as Alston’s triples pulled the Setters to 51-47 at the 8:47 mark, while a three-point play by Primus-Devonish at 5:29 pulled the Setters to within three points at 56-53. Keon Williams (Hackensack, N J/Hackensack/Iona College) netted a pair of free throws at the 4:41 mark slice the score to 56-55. 

Setters Down Purple Knights in NE-10 Action

COLCHESTER, Vt.- Carol Johnson (New City, NY/Cardinal Spellman) posted a double-double as the Setters defeated the Purple Knights of Saint Michael’s College 57-51 in Northeast-10 Conference action Jan. 3 in women's basetball. The Setters improve to 9-3 overall and 6-2 in the NE-10, while the Purple Knights fall to 5-6 and 2-5 in conference play.

The teams traded leads early in the game as the Purple Knights would pull ahead 22-15 with 6:46 left in the opening half. The Setters rallied with a 9-0 run capped off by a three-point play by Brittany Shields (Cold Spring, NY/Haldane) to put Pace up 24-22 with 4:11 remaining in the first half.

Saint Michael’s tied the game at 24 and the teams would trade baskets the rest of the way but Kerri White (Flushing, NY/Mary Louis Academy/Manhattan College) connected on her 100th collegiate triple with 1:24 on the clock as the Setters headed to halftime up 32-29.

The Purple Knights took an early second half lead at 34-32 but Pace took control of the game with a 13-2 run to flip the script to take a 45-36 lead midway through the second half. Saint Michael’s closed to gap to three points at 45-42 but Pace answered as Allison Cleary (New Windsor, NY/Cornwall Central) hit a triple and a shot clock beating jumper to put the Setters up 54-46 with 1:59 left in the game.

The Purple Knights closed to with five points in the final minute but the Setters held off Saint Michael’s down the stretch to win by six points.

For Pace, Margo Hackett (Pawling, NY/Pawling) led the Setters with 12 points, while Johnson finished with a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds. Cleary totaled 10 points and six rebounds.

The Setters are back in action on Saturday, January 7 when Pace will host the Falcons of Bentley University at the Goldstein Fitness Center in a Northeast-10 Conference match-up at 1:30 pm.

Off-season at Trump

For those looking to use the grounds at the Trump National Golf Course during its off-season, see the Village of Briarcliff's website for details on how.

On tap today:

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Source: http://sportspakdb.lhric.org

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