UNIION, N.J. (2/6/2013) – The Kean University men's basketball team dropped a tough 53-46 NJAC matchup with William Paterson on Wednesday night. The Cougars led as late as 4:43 in the second half and were led by junior Kyle Latorre, who finished with 14 points and was a rebound shy of a double-double.

The first half was tight, with both teams shooting about 30 percent from the floor. William Paterson actually hit one more field goal than the Cougars, but Kean held a three-point lead at the break thanks to five hits from behind the arc.

Latorre hit a lay-in with five minutes to go in the first to break a 21-21 tie and led Kean with eight points in the first. For the Pioneers, Lance Brown led with eight points and Rick DeStefano had a pair of three balls taken from well behind the line for six points.

Early in the second period, it was again Latorre who knocked down a jumper from the free-throw line to break a 33-33 tie and give the Cougars the lead.

William Paterson went on an eight-point run in the endgame to go up by seven with one minute to go. Michael Burton hit a pair of threes for Kean in the final 20 seconds but it was not enough to overcome the sluggish second half. Burton also finished with 14 for Kean. Brown led all scorers with 17 for the Pioneers.

Kean will host its final home game of the season on Saturday against Montclair State at 3 p.m.