Quincy-Jones records 18 points and 14 rebounds to lead the Setters

RINDGE, N.H. (November 28, 2007) – Pace University held off a late Franklin Pierce University rally to post a 77-72 victory in Northeast-10 Conference men’s basketball action tonight at the Fieldhouse.

Senior forward Desmond Quincy-Jones (Rye, N.Y./Rye) led Pace with a double-double effort of 18 points and 14 rebounds, adding four blocks and a steal. He scored 12 of his 18 points in the second half as the Ravens nearly came back from a 13-point second-half deficit.

Senior Gibraltar White (Gautier, Miss./Gautier) led all scorers with 21 points, shooting 8-for-12 from the field (including 3-5 from three-point range), to go with three rebounds and three steals. Classmate Ryan Williams (Centreville, Va./Paul VI) added 14 points and four rebounds, while junior Randy Wilson (Peekskill, N.Y./Peekskill) chipped in 11 points and seven rebounds.

Junior Timothy Munch (Blauvelt, N.Y./Storm King Prep) and freshman Kinard Dozier (Dedham, Mass./The Winchendon School) led Franklin Pierce with 15 points off the bench, with Dozier adding seven rebounds, two assists and two steals. Junior Rimas Varanauskas (Kaunas, Lithuania/The Winchendon School) notched a season-high 13 points, including eight in the second half, and added six rebounds for the Ravens. Sophomore Marcus Wellman (Monroe, Conn./Hamden Hall) chipped in 11 points, six assists and two steals.

Pace scored the first five points of the game and never trailed in the first 20 minutes of action, using a 12-0 run that featured seven consecutive points by White, to give the team a 14-point advantage with 7:17 remaining. The Setters went into halftime with a comfortable ten point advantage at 41-31.

Franklin Pierce scored the first seven points of the second half, led by two baskets from Varanauskas, to close within three, 3:06 into the stanza. Pace responded with a 17-7 run of its own, featuring three baskets and a free throw from Quincy-Jones, to take a 56-43 lead with 12:05 remaining.

Franklin Pierce still wouldn’t go away, scoring 15 of 17 points in a span of 4:18 to trim a 13-point deficit into a 67-67l tie with 4:39 left on the clock. Varanauskas, Munch and Dozier all scored four points for the Ravens during the run. The Ravens were within two (72-70) after a Wellman three with 3:16 left, but Pace scored the next five points to regain a seven-point cushion (77-70) with 24-seconds left and seal victory.

Franklin Pierce did a good job capitalizing on turnovers, as the team scored 31 points off of 24 Setter turnovers on the evening. The Ravens used 15-of-31 (48.4 percent) shooting in the second half to get back into the game, and shot 41.9 percent (26-of-62) on the night. Pace finished at 43.1 percent on 25-of-58 shooting from the field.

Franklin Pierce (2-3, 0-3 NE-10) is back in action on Saturday when it visits Stonehill College at 3:30 p.m. Pace (2-3, 2-1 NE-10) hosts Southern New Hampshire University on Saturday at 3:30 p.m.