HACKETTSTOWN, N.J. – The No. 20 William Paterson men's basketball team (1-0) opened its 2012-13 season with a 59-54 victory against DeSales (0-1) Nov. 16 in the opening round of Centenary's Comfort Inn Tip-Off Tournament.

Senior guard/forward Lance Brown (Teaneck, N.J./Paterson Catholic) led all players with 16 points, and tied for game-high rebounding honors with eight.  Senior guard Rick DeStefano (Marlboro, N.J./Marlboro) and junior guard Sandy Burgos (Fort Lee, N.J./Fort Lee) each scored nine tallies, and freshman guard/forward Terik Bridgeman (Harlem, N.Y./Nia Prep) contributed six points and seven boards.

The Pioneers trailed by six early in the second half (29-23, 18:25) before DeStefano capped an 11-3 run with a three-pointer, handing WP a 34-32 edge at the 13:52 mark.  Two ties and a pair of lead changes marked the next three minutes, but a Julio Rosario (Perth Amboy, N.J./Cardinal McCarrick) tip-in and a Bright Mensah (Hackensack, N.J./Hackensack) trey gave the Pioneers their largest lead of the game, 45-39, with 7:49 remaining.

The Bulldogs twice pulled to within two in the next 2:18 of action, but Brown's bucket from behind the arc (56-50, 2:05) and two misses from deep by DeSales allowed WP to keep it a two-possession game until 33 seconds remained. Burgos made the first of two free throws with 32 seconds to play (58-54), and when Bulldog Paul Pammer missed a pair from the charity stripe with 15 seconds left, it forced DeSales to foul and Brown made one of two at the line with nine seconds on the clock.

Michael Guldin led DeSales with 12 points and five assists, and Brett Moyer had nine tallies and eight rebounds.

William Paterson will play in the Comfort Inn Tip-Off Tournament final Saturday, Nov. 17, at 6:00 p.m.

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