WAYNE, N.J. – Five Pioneers were in double figures in scoring as the No. 20 William Paterson men's basketball team (2-1, 1-0 NJAC) ran away from The College of New Jersey (0-1, 0-1 NJAC) for a 94-63 victory Nov. 20 in WP's home and conference opener.
The Pioneers blew open a one-point game with an 11-0 run midway through the first half, getting points from five different players to stake themselves to a 30-18 advantage with 8:27 on the clock. The Lions could not make much of a dent in that lead, trailing 45-36 at the break despite sophomore Jayson Johnson's 17 first-half tallies.
WP quickly extended its margin to 27 by the 13:41 mark of the second half (67-40), opening the period with a 22-4 burst that ended any doubt about the game's outcome. William Paterson shot 56.5 (35-62) percent from the floor overall, including a 7-for-14 (.500) effort from three-point range, and turned a 41-26 rebounding advantage into a 46-18 edge in points scored in the paint and a 23-7 margin in second-chance points.
Senior guard Rick DeStefano (Marlboro, N.J./Marlboro) was 4-for-5 (.800) from behind the arc for 12 points, and sophomore guard Jaques Conceicao (Massama-Lisboa, Portugal/Francais Charle Lepierre) finished with 12 tallies and six rebounds. Freshman guard/forward Terik Bridgeman (Harlem, N.Y./Nia Prep) notched a double-double with 10 points and a game-high 11 boards, senior guard/forward Lance Brown (Teaneck, N.J./Paterson Catholic) contributed 11 points, four assists and three steals, and senior forward Thomas Goubadia (Union, N.J./Union) had 11 tallies off the bench. Junior guard Sandy Burgos (Fort Lee, N.J./Fort Lee) chipped in nine points and sophomore forward James McLane (Belleville, N.J./Queen of Peace) finished with eight tallies and four boards.
Johnson led all scorers with 20 points for the Lions. Junior Matthew Rista added 14 tallies.
William Paterson will visit FDU-Florham Monday, Nov. 26, at 7:00 p.m.
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