MANCHESTER, N.H. – The nationally-ranked Saint Anselm College men's basketball team was tripped up by a strong Pace University side on Wednesday, 77-56, at Stoutenburgh Gymnasium.

The Hawks (15-6, 11-4 NE10), ranked No. 23 in NCAA Division II (D2SIDA), have lost to the Setters for the second time this season. Pace had lost five games in a row entering Wednesday's tilt, but improves to 15-8 on the year and to 7-8 versus the league.

Saint Anselm shot 34.5% from the floor, the second-lowest total on the season that trails only the 28.3% field goal percentage recorded in the team's earlier game at Pace on Nov. 22. The Setters also controlled the paint, scoring 30 of its points under the rim while keeping the hosts to just 10 paint points.

Senior Tyler Arbuckle (Bristol, Conn.), who was honored with a pre-game ceremony to recognize his 1,000th career point, scored 14 points in 40 minutes for the Hawks. Classmate Owen McGlashan (Marlton, N.J.) had 10 points while sophomore Zac Taylor (Victoria, Australia) scored nine points with seven rebounds, leading the team.

Pace opened up a 20-11 lead in the first half and never looked back despite several Hawks rallies. A seven-point run by the Hawks trimmed their deficit to just 28-23 with 3:55 left in the first half, but the Setters closed the opener on a 9-2 run to take a 37-25 halftime lead.

The Hawks made it a two-possession game just minutes into the second half with two triples, one from junior Matt Becker (Fairfield, Conn.) and one from Arbuckle, but Pace fired off a 13-0 run that led to a dominant 17-4 stretch of offensive play. The Setters went on to score 30 of the game's 40 points across a 15-minute span.

Saint Anselm welcomes American International to town on Tuesday, Feb. 7, hosting the Yellow Jackets at 7:30 p.m. before playing three of the team's final four games on the road.