Pace Paw Print

Media Credit: Alex Pandolfi Ryan Williams watches one of his three pointers go down on a record breaking night.

Nov. 20, Pleasantville- Junior Setters guard Ryan Williams was on a mission in Paces men's basketball home opener against the Yellow Jackets of American International College (AIC). Williams entered the game only two three-pointers shy of breaking Pace's all-time record for three-pointers.

Breaking the record is exactly what Williams did when he sunk the record breaking shot from three-point land with 14:03 left in the first half, giving him 260 three-pointers in his collegiate career.

Williams reflected on his record after the game saying, "It's a great accomplishment, but I have to thank my teammates for passing me the ball. Without them I don't think this record would have happened."

The record was previously held by Jay Carlington who had 259 career three-pointers and played from 1998-2002.

While Williams was off breaking his record, the Setters maintained a close 24-18 lead about halfway through the first half.

With a little under six minutes left in the opening half senior forward Desmond Quincy-Jones drained a jumper that gave the Setters an eleven point 31-20 lead.

The Yellow Jackets would not let this lead stand as they went on a 9-3 run as the first half was ending, bringing Pace's big lead down to a score of 34-29.

Pace got last laugh in the first half as sophomore guard Laurence McGhee launched a buzzer beating shot from three-point land giving the Setters a 37-29 halftime lead.

Williams led the Setters with nine points at the half. All of Williams' points came from beyond the arc. Sophomore forward Aikeem Vanderhorst led the Yellow Jackets with 13 points at halftime.

Williams continued to make noise for the Setters at the beginning of the second half, when he stole a ball and gave a no-look pass to senior guard Gibraltar White who elevated for a lay up.

The Setters would slightly extend their lead in the beginning of the second half, but it would last at the Yellow Jackets were looking to make a comeback.

With a 48-45 lead and 14:52 left in the game, a lay up and a foul shot was made by AIC sophomore forward Ryan Leak, tying up the ball game.

Eventually with the game tied at 58, Pace took a small 61-58 lead when White made an arcing three-pointer.

AIC came back from this small deficit to tie this game up once more at 63. When this game was starting to look too close for comfort Pace's junior forward Randy Wilson swatted a Yellow Jacket shot for a crucial block. The block eventually set up Wilson for a foul shot giving Pace a 64-63

The Yellow Jackets would come back again as junior guard Vernon Dupree made a game leading jumper giving a slight edge to AIC.

At this point it was time for Williams and his three-point shooting ability to step up once again for the Setters as he fired the three-pointer putting the Setters ahead 67-65.

This would be the last lead change of the game as the Setters just had to hold on for five minutes to win. Wilson would help solidify this lead with a dunk that made the crowd roar, as it provided enough momentum for Pace's first men's basketball victory of the season with an 85-74 win.

Aside from breaking the record, Williams posted 24 points on the night tying the game high. Williams made six three-pointers making the current all-time Pace record of 264. Quincy-Jones posted a team high total of 12 rebounds and McGhee totaled six assists.

With the win the Setters improve their record to 1-2 overall and 1-0 in the Northeast-10 conference. The next time you can catch Setters men's basketball in Pleasantville is on Dec. 1 at 3:30 p.m. when Pace takes on conference opponent Southern New Hampshire.

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