PLEASANTVILLE, N.Y. - The sixth-seeded Saint Michael's College men's basketball team trimmed No. 3 Pace University, 54-48, on Saturday during a Northeast 10 Conference Championship first-round contest in the Goldstein Health, Fitness & Recreation Center. The Purple Knights were seventh in this week's NCAA East Region rankings, while the Setters stood 10th.
 
Thanks to its victory and No. 7 Southern New Hampshire University's upset of second-seeded Bentley University, Saint Michael's will host the Penmen for an NE10 Championship semifinal on Wednesday.
 
RECORDS

• Saint Michael's (17-12), Pace (16-11)

SAINT MICHAEL'S LEADERS

• First-year Quintin Floyd (Windsor, Conn./Choate Rosemary Hall), 14 points, 3 steals, 5-for-9 field goals, 2-for-3 three-pointers
• Senior Zocko Littleton (Albany, Ga./Osborne/Rider), 12 points
• Junior Latiek Briscoe Jr. (Brooklyn, N.Y./Saint Francis Prep/Saint Edward's), 10 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals
• Redshirt first-year Mac Kelly (Mineola, N.Y./The Hun School of Princeton/Colorado Christian), 8 points, 2-for-3 three-pointers
• Sophomore Greg Kenney (Williston Park, N.Y./The Frederick Gunn School/LIU), 10 rebounds, 3 blocks
• Senior Nolan Marold (Highlands Ranch, Colo./Brewster Academy/Loyola Chicago), 6 rebounds (4 offensive)

OPPONENT LEADERS

• Senior Jabari Nurse, 16 points, 12 rebounds
• Graduate student Jaden Kealey, 13 points, 9 rebounds (6 offensive), 6-for-10 field goals

GAME FACTS

• Saint Michael's led for 37:29, while Pace never led in the contest.
• The Purple Knights have now won seven of their last 10 against Pace, with their last five wins in Pleasantville decided by a total of 20 points.
• Saint Michael's won its fourth NE10 Championship opening-round game in its last five tries.
• The teams met for the third time this season, with the visiting team winning every contest.
• The Purple and Gold will host its second NE10 Championship semifinal in three years on Wednesday after advancing as far as the semifinal round only once in the prior 22 years.

THE ACTION

• The Purple Knights led 11-5 on Briscoe's lay-up at 15:08 of the opening half before Pace countered with a tying 11-5 run of its own, knotting the game on sophomore Ethan Robertson's three-pointer at 11:06.
• Kelly scored the next five points, and the visitors led 25-19 on senior Marcus Meeks' (Prairie Village, Kan./Brewster Academy) free throw with 2:11 to go. Redshirt senior Paxton Davidson's triple with 57 seconds left cut the deficit to a single digit at halftime, 25-24. Kelly, who entered the game with 37 points all season, keyed the Purple Knights' first-half efforts with a game-high eight points at break.
• Kenney and Floyd buried consecutive threes 56 seconds apart, both from Briscoe assists, before Floyd capped an 8-0 run with a fastbreak lay-in at 15:28 of the second half to make it 35-26.
• After Kealey's back-to-back baskets trimmed the hole to five, Floyd scored the final four points in a 6-0 run, and the visitors were up 41-30 with 10:54 left.
• The lead remained between 11 and seven points until Nurse drained a three with 14 seconds to go (53-48), but sophomore Raph Dumont (Quebec City, Quebec/Vanier College/Arkansas-Pine Bluff) hit a free throw one second later. Pace missed its final shot before committing a turnover following a rebound.

NEXT SAINT MICHAEL'S GAME

• Wednesday vs. Southern New Hampshire, time TBA for NE10 Championship semifinal.