Box Score

Senior F Keon Williams scored 22 points and Pace University shot 63.3 percent from the field in the second half to defeat UMass Lowell, 76-63, Saturday afternoon in a Northeast-10 Conference men's basketball clash at the Goldstein Fitness Center.

With the loss, UMass Lowell slipped to 10-5 overall and 6-5 in the NE-10 entering Wednesday's game at Le Moyne (7:30). Pace improved to 8-7 overall and 5-6 in the Conference.

Junior F Antonio Bivins (Miami, Fla.) led UMass Lowell with 18 points, eight rebounds and four steals while shooting 7-14 from the field and 4-4 from the free throw line. Junior G Akeem Williams (Brockton, Mass.) added 15 points while sophomore G Chad Holley (New York, N.Y.) chipped in 10 points.

Williams converted 8-11 field goals for Pace and grabbed nine rebounds while junior F Jonathan Merceus added 20 points and 12 rebounds while shooting 9-15 from the field.

Junior G Denzel Primus-Devonish chipped in 19 points and dished out a game-high seven assists.

Pace converted 19 of 30 field goal attempts in the second half – up from 9-13 shooting in the first half (.290) – while UMass Lowell struggled from the floor in the second stanza, shooting 12-34 (.353).

The Setters also had their way in the paint, outscoring UMass Lowell, 42-20. The advantage buffered the River Hawks' 10-6 edge on second chance points; 10-0 off the bench and 17-12 off turnovers (both teams had 18).

Pace led 43-36 midway through the second half, but a trey by Williams cut the deficit to 43-39 with 9:57 to play. The Setters, however, answered with seven straight points to grab a 50-39 cushion with 7:51 remaining.

Pace never let UMass Lowell within seven points the rest of the way and built its lead to 70-57 with 2:04 left to play, from which the River Hawks were unable to recover.