PLEASANTVILLE, N.Y. - American International men's basketball senior point guard Spencer Braithwaite (Dorcester, Mass.) paced the Yellow Jackets with 18, but the Setters outlasted AIC, 69-65 at the Goldstein Fit Center Saturday afternoon.

With the loss AIC falls to 9-14 overal and 6-10 in the NE-10, while with the win Pace improves to 5-16 and 3-12 in conference play.

AIC took a 38-31 lead into the break, but the Setters came out firing, opening the second frame on an 11-4 run to tie it up at 42 apiece and never gave it back.

Pace led by as many as eight in the second period, but a Braithwaite jumper got the Jackets within two with 10 seconds remaining in regulation.

The Yellow Jackets immediately put senior Setter Denzel Premis-Devonish (Riverdale, Md.) on the line who converted on both and gave Pace the two-possession lead. On the ensuing possession junior Marcus Porter's (New Castle, Del.) last second three was no good as Pace held on.

Porter finished with 14 points and a team-high nine rebounds. Senior's Janek Schmidkunz (Berlin, Germany) and Jason Perrier (Bridgeport, Conn.) also net double figures for the Jackets. Schmidkunz finished with 12 off 4-of-9 shooting from three-point land. Perrier chipped in 11.

Pace dominated the offensive glass, outrebounding AIC 12-6 and scoring 12 second chance points to AIC's three.

Setter senior Jonathan Merceus's (Union, N.J.) big double-double, 20 points, 15 rebounds, led Pace.

AIC returns to action Tuesday, Feb. 11 against the Panthers of Adelphi back at Butova. Tip-off is slated for 7:30 p.m.