Syracuse, N.Y. – Brandon Jacobs tallied 17 points to lead Pace University to a 56-53 win over the Le Moyne College men's basketball team in Northeast-10 Conference action at Ted Grant Court on Saturday afternoon.

Senior guard C.J. Asuncion-Byrd (Greenwich, Conn./Greenwich/St. Thomas More/Gannon) led three Dolphins in double figures with 12 points off the bench. Junior forwards Tom Brown (Ellicott City, Md./Centennial) and Kobi Nwandu (York, Pa./Northeastern York/East Stroudsburg) each recorded 11 points, while Brown grabbed five rebounds. Redshirt junior forward Souleymane Gueye (Dakar, Senegal/Hachioji Academy (Tokyo, Japan)/Snow College) pulled down a team-best 10 rebounds, including five on the offensive end.

Jacobs recorded nine of his game-high point total in the second half, while grabbing five rebounds and dishing out three assists in all 40 minutes. Peyton Wejnert turned in 13 points and Austin Gilbertson scored 11 points and grabbed seven rebounds. Greg Poleon registered a double-double of 10 points and 12 rebounds.

Pace built an 8-2 lead before the Dolphins made a field goal attempt with 15:28 left in the first half. After the Dolphins closed within 8-6 on a jumper by Nwandu with 14:20 left, the Setters scored eight straight points to take a 17-6 advantage. Gilbertson made a jumper, Jacobs converted two foul shots, Poleon made a jumper and then Gilbertson drilled a three-pointer.

Le Moyne answered with a 14-4 run to cut its deficit to 21-20 with 4:24 remaining in the half. Redshirt junior guard Malik Garner (Midland, Mich./H.H. Dow/Sunrise Christian Academy/Saginaw Valley State) and Asuncion-Byrd scored in the paint to start the run. Following a Pace basket, Nwandu drained a three-pointer and Brown made a jumper off passes from each other. Brown answered a jumper by Jacobs with a three-pointer and junior guard Zay Jennings (Allentown, Pa./Allentown Central Catholic/Caldwell) followed with a put-back lay-up to get the Dolphins within one.

Pace countered with an 8-3 spurt to push its lead back to six. Jacobs scored the first four points, while Wejnert tallied the next four after a three-pointer by Asuncion-Byrd.

The Dolphins got within 29-26 at halftime as Asuncion-Byrd banked in a three-pointer with seven seconds left in the half.

Le Moyne scored the first six points of the second half to take its first lead of the game. Brown and Garner made lay-ups before Nwandu scored in the paint for a 32-29 lead.

After the teams traded three-pointers, the Setters scored 10 of the next 12 points to take a five-point lead. Jacobs bookended the run with jumper, while Poleon, Gilbertson and Wejnert each scored two points in the stretch.

The Dolphins responded with six points in 42 seconds to take their final lead of the game. Brown drained a three-pointer off an offensive rebound kickout by Gueye and then sophomore guard Tim Leavell (Marion, Ind./Marion/State Fair C.C.) registered a conventional three-point play with 12:07 to go for a 43-42 advantage.

Pace answered with nine consecutive points to take the lead for good. Wejnert made a jumper and a three-pointer around a Gilbertson fast-break lay-up and Poleon capped the streak with two free throws with 7:16 remaining.

After two points each from Garner and Poleon, the Dolphins scored five straight points to get back within one possession. Asuncion-Byrd drilled a three-pointer and then Nwandu made two free throws. Following one free throw each from Tyrone Cohen, Jr. and Asuncion-Byrd, Gueye made two free throws to get the Dolphins within 54-53 with 48 seconds left.

The Setters missed a three-pointer on their next possession and the Dolphins got the rebound and called timeout in the frontcourt. The Dolphins missed on a shot in the paint, but got the offensive rebound. However, the Dolphins were issued a technical foul for calling timeout after already exhausting their allotment for the game. Jacobs made both free throws with five seconds left to put the Setters up 56-53. The Dolphins were able to get off a three-pointer with two seconds to go, but the attempt sailed past the rim and Jacobs corralled the loose ball and ran out the clock.
 
Le Moyne (5-3, 3-2 NE10), which had won five straight meetings with the Setters and lost at home to Pace for the first time since December 1, 2010 (seven straight wins), takes on the University at Buffalo on Wednesday at 7:00 p.m. The contest will be an exhibition for the Dolphins, while counting for the Bulls.