WORCESTER, Mass.—The Assumption University men's basketball pulled off an upset victory to close the regular season, taking down No. 16 Pace University in Laska Gymnasium on Tuesday night.
THE BASICS:
Score: Assumption University 76, No. 16 Pace University 62
Records: Greyhounds (19-8, 14-6 NE10) | Setters (22-6, 14-6 NE10)
HOW IT HAPPENED:
Daouda Dembele opened the scoring with two points in the paint, then
Jamal Barnes amped up the energy with a three-pointer shortly after. The Hounds continued the strong start, but Pace found their footing and took their first lead of the contest, 18-17 with 11:23 left in the opening half. Assumption recaptured the lead thanks to back-to-back threes from
Baril Mawo.
Njavan Stewart added another three-ball to make it 26-18, favoring the Greyhounds. That 9-0 Assumption run would end the lead changes in this game. The Hounds closed out the first half comfortably, leading 39-26.
Stewart stayed hot to begin the second half, draining a deep ball on the first possession. Any excitement that may have fizzled out during intermission was rushed back through the bleachers. The upset was well in the cards. Momentum kept building for the Hounds and crushing the Setters.
Jamal Barnes buried two more consecutive buckets from beyond the arc at the ten-minute mark. With that, the Greyhounds had the room to close the game. After capitalizing on free throws in the final moments, the Hounds would relish as they heard the last buzzer up by 14.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS:
- Stewart led the Greyhounds with 18 points and brought in six rebounds.
- Pace's Tray Alexander scored a game-high 21 points.
- Dembele ended the game with 16 points and a game-high of five blocks.
- Mawo went an impressive 3-4 from distance.
- This season marks the Greyhounds' best NE10 finish since the 2012-2013 season when Assumption earned the second seed in the NE10 Men's Basketball Tournament.
- Assumption leads the all-time series 23-14.
UP NEXT:
- Assumption vs. Pace University, Sunday, March 2, 3:00 pm – NE10 Quarterfinals
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