Syracuse, N.Y. - Le Moyne College senior All-American forward Laurence Ekperigin (Cortlandt Manor, N.Y./Walter Panas) became the program's all-time leading scorer as the Dolphins defeated Pace University, 86-70, in Northeast-10 Conference action on Wednesday night at Ted Grant Court.

Ekperigin, the two-time reigning Conference player of the week, finished the contest with game-highs of 32 points, 17 rebounds and six blocks. After scoring just five points in 18 first-half minutes, Ekperigin scored Le Moyne's first five points of the second half and eight of the first 17. With a lay-up at the 12:59 mark of the second half, Ekperigin recorded his 13th point of the game to move past Len Rauch '91 (1,876 points) into first place on the all-time scoring chart. Through 114 career games, Ekperigin has 1,896 points and 1,138 rebounds. His rebound total is just 13 behind Rauch's program record.

Sophomore guard Chris Johnson (Lindenhurst, N.Y./Lindenhurst) hit seven three-pointers en route to a career high-tying 25 points. Junior forward Kevin Roth (Lake View, N.Y./St. Francis HS) added 13 points and nine rebounds, while graduate student guard Damani Corbin (Brooklyn, N.Y./Frederick Douglass) recorded 11 points and eight assists. Carlos Howard led the Setters with 19 points. Callum Jones registered 13 points, Laurence McGhee recorded 11 points and Delroy Daley totaled 10 points.

The opening half of the game went back-and-forth and featured three ties and four lead changes. The teams split the first 16 points of the contest as each team hit a pair of three-pointers and a lay-up.

After Pace took a 10-8 lead on a Daley jumper, the Dolphins scored six straight points and 16 of the game's next 21 to take their largest lead of the half. Senior forward Kevin Hassett (Phoenix, Ariz./Desert Mountain/Iona) started the run with a three-pointer at the end of the shot clock and Johnson followed with a pair of three-pointers. Pace narrowed its deficit to 17-15 on an Erik Harris jumper, but Ekperigin answered with a lay-up, Roth followed with a conventional three-point play and Johnson hit a jumper at the 5:40 mark.

The Setters closed out the half with an 18-8 run to take a 33-32 lead into the intermission. Howard hit two three-pointers and a jumper in the stretch, while McGhee and David Eismeier also nailed three-pointers.

On the opening possession of the second half, Corbin connected with Ekperigin for an alley-oop dunk to regain the lead for the Dolphins. The two squads then went back-and-forth over the next seven minutes, resulting in three ties and seven lead changes. After Ekperigin's record-setting lay-up put the Dolphins ahead 49-47, Jones scored for Pace to tie the score for the final time in the game.

Following a timeout after Jones' basket, Le Moyne scored six straight points to take the lead for good. Ekperigin recorded a conventional three-point play and Johnson drilled a three-pointer for a 55-49 lead with 11:18 remaining.

Le Moyne's lead fluctuated between three and eight points over the next 7:23 before the Dolphins were able to take a double-digit lead. Ekperigin scored 10 points in the stretch, the final three of which gave the Dolphins an 11-point edge, while Johnson added five points and Corbin scored four.

After Eismeier made a put-back lay-up at the 3:20 mark, the Dolphins closed out the game with 10 of the last 13 points. Ekperigin made a lay-up and four free throws in the span, with Corbin and Roth each adding lay-ups.

Le Moyne (17-8, NE-10 13-7), which has won seven straight games and moved into sole possession of fourth place in the conference standings, travels to Worcester, Mass. on Saturday, Feb. 20 to take on Assumption at 3:30 p.m.