Pace Men's Basketball Falls to Adelphi in OT, 87-77

PLEASANTVILLE, N.Y. – The Pace University men's basketball team dropped a back-and-forth affair to Adelphi on Saturday evening, falling to the Panthers, 87-77, in overtime.The loss moves the Setters' record to 15-10 on the year and 9-8 in the Northeast-10 Conference. With still three games remaining in the regular season, the Blue and Gold have clinched a berth into the NE10 Tournament in early March. Inside the Numbers *Brandon Jacobs (Cambria Heights, NY/Long Island Lutheran) became the newest addition to the Pace record books following his performance on Saturday. With a team-high 12 assists, the sophomore ties Todd Ziogas' single-season program record with 163 helpers. *Jacobs was also one of four scorers to reach double figures for the Blue and Gold on Saturday. Peyton Wejnert (Point Pleasant, NJ/Southern Regional) led the offense for a fifth-straight game, scoring 19 points. The junior forward is now just nine points shy of 1,000 for his career. *Greg Poleon (Brooklyn, NY/Abraham Lincoln / Coffeyville CC) added 17 points, his fourth straight contest reaching double-figures. Alongside 16 points from Jacobs, Tyrone Cohen, Jr. (Woodside, NY/Christ the King / Holy Cross University / Broward College) scored 13 to round out Pace's top scoring effort. *Wejnert also earned his ninth double-double of the season by pulling down a team-high 10 rebounds. *For a third straight game, the Setters shot over 70 percent from the free throw line. Jacobs and Ray Montilus (Union, NJ/Pope John XXII) combined to go eight-for-eight from the charity stripe. How it Happened The contest opened with Adelphi taking charge over the opening 10 minutes. The Panthers built a lead to as high as seven in the early going, but Pace hung around before eventually tying the game at 19-19 off a Montilus three-pointer. The Setters would claim their first lead of the game with 7:30 left in the half courtesy of a Jacobs layup. Pace would slowly pad the lead over the remainder of the half, snagging an eight-point advantage off of a Poleon jumper in the closing seconds to lead 44-36 through the opening 20 minutes. The second half featured a role reversal, as Pace would carry their lead through the first 15 minutes out of the locker room before Adelphi took a 64-63 lead with just under six minutes left in regulation. The Panthers would extend their lead to five points before the Setters ended the half on a 7-2 run over the final 3:30 to send the game into overtime tied 72-72. The opening of OT went back and forth, but with the score tied at 77 apiece, the Panthers went eight-of-nine on free throw attempts in the final minute and change as part of a 10-0 run to snag the 87-77 win. Up Next The Setters play their final home game of the regular season on Wednesday night. It will be Senior Night as well as Faculty & Staff Appreciation Night inside the Goldstein Fitness Center when Pace hosts Le Moyne at 7:30 p.m.