Lakewood, N.J.- The Georgian Court University men's basketball squad didn't bring its appetite to Saturday's Thanksgiving weekend home contest vs. Pace University as the Setters outlasted the Lions, 90-75, in front of a crowd of 156 in the GCU Wellness Center.

With the defeat, Georgian suffers its second straight defeat and falls to 2-5 on the campaign. Pace, representing the Northeast-10 Conference, improves to 2-4 on the year.

The Lions never led in the affair with the Setters establishing a first-half highwater mark of 13 (35-22) with 5:02 remaining, courtesy of a Kai Smith (Sr.-Upper Marlboro, Md.) three-pointer. GCU outscored the visitors, 7-3, during the final five minutes to cut the halftime deficit to 38-29.

The Setters owned the second stanza, sprinting to a 19-point lead on two seperate occasions, with the second coming at 11:51 after a Jonathan Merceus (Sr.-Union, N.J.) jumper provided Pace with a 61-42 advantage. A Robert Ashamole layup with 6:21 to go completed a 17-6 spurt and cut the Pace lead to 67-59. It would not be enough, unfortunately, for the Lions as the Setters closed the contest with a 20-16 run to solidify the non-conference victory.

Merceus proved to be the lollapalooza of the Pace offense, draining a game-high 24 points with a 10-for-14 shooting effort from the floor and a perfect four-for-four from the charity stripe, to along with seven boards and three steals in 36 minutes. Jamaal James (Sr.-Brooklyn, N.Y.) compiled a double-double with 19 points and a game-best 10 boards. Jaylen Mann (So.-Youngstown, Ohio) popped in 16 points while Kevin Berardini (Gr.-Lake Forest, Ill.) and Smith each scored 11 apiece, guaranteeing double-digits for all five starters. Berardini also led all players with nine assists on the afternoon.

For the sixth time in seven games, Jordan Wejnert reached double-digits in scoring, tallying a personal season-high 23 points for the the third time this season. Trey Jones and Jonte Rutty registered 11 points each. Rutty accompanied his season-best shooting effort with a team-leading seven rebounds. Jones distributed five assists while Alex Ramirez dished a team-leading six.

GCU concludes its four-game homestand and will now take to the road this Tuesday when the Lions travel to Lincoln University for a 7:00 p.m. showdown.