WAYNE, N.J. – The William Paterson men's basketball team (3-7, 1-5 NJAC) picked up its first New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) win of the season after defeating Rutgers-Newark (5-6, 2-4 NJAC), 65-52, Dec. 13 at the Sports and Recreation Center.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED:

• Junior Andre Wells scored from inside the paint at the 16:37 mark of the first half to spark 17-4 run that lasted over 11 minutes of action and gave the Pioneers a double-digit lead (23-8).
• William Paterson closed out the final 2:36 of the opening stanza with seven unanswered points and carried a 19-point advantage (32-13) into the halftime break.
• The Scarlet Raiders got right back into the game after opening the second half on an 11-0 run to trim the deficit to eight (32-24) with 16:13 on the clock.
• That would be as close as Rutgers-Newark would get as the two sides traded baskets for the remainder of the night, allowing the Pioneers to earn the 65-52 home win.

 
INSIDE THE NUMBERS:

• Senior Shawn Summers Jr. scored a game-high 15 points on 7-of-14 (.500) shooting.
• Graduate student MJ Moncrieffe tallied 11 points and a career-high 16 rebounds.
• Wells recorded nine points to pair with five assists.
• Junior Uche Unegbu chipped in with a career-high seven points on 3-of-4 (.750) shooting.
• Junior David Martinez posted a seven-point outing.

 
UP NEXT:

• William Paterson returns to action Saturday, Dec. 16, for a 1:00 p.m. game at Maritime.