HOBOKEN, N.J. – William Paterson (3-0) fought back from a 23-point deficit midway through the second half to force overtime, and went on to pull out a 112-107 win in the third extra session against the host Ducks (2-1) in the final of the Stevens Men's Basketball Tip-Off Tournament Nov. 19.

Junior guard Corey Chandler (Newark, N.J./Newark East Side) had 28 points, nine rebounds, 11 assists and five steals, and classmate Lance Brown (Teaneck, N.J./Paterson Catholic) collected 21 tallies, eight boards and four steals.  Junior guard Rick DeStefano (Marlboro, N.J./Marlboro) scored a career-best 18 points, shooting 3-for-8 (.375) from three-point range and 7-for-7 (1.000) from the free-throw line, and freshman Manny Hernandez (Paterson, N.J./Paramus Catholic) added 13 tallies.

After taking a 44-31 lead into the locker room, the Ducks used a 17-4 run to build a 63-40 advantage with 10:12 to play.  The Pioneers answered with nine straight points, including six from Hernandez, to cut it to 14 (63-49, 8:05), and with Stevens ahead by a 73-62 count with 3:51 on the clock, a Hernandez layup started a spurt for WP.  Hernandez drained a three (73-67, 2:30), and a Chandler steal led to a layup and one, making it a one-possession game at 73-70 with 2:19 to play in the second half.

Stevens' Sheldon Jones went 2-for-4 at the charity strip during the next 32 seconds, and after a Brown bucket, Jones converted a layup for a five-point Duck lead (77-72, 0:56).  Chandler went to the line and made two six seconds later, and after a Stevens turnover, Chandler made good on a third chance on WP's next possession (77-76, 0:15).  The Pioneers fouled and Matt Skrelja made the front end of a two-shot foul (78-76, 0:09).  Chandler rebounded the miss, and Brown put back Hernandez's miss from beyond the arc, knotting the score at 78-78 with two seconds left.

Neither team was able to go head by more than two in the first overtime until Skrelja knocked down a pair from the line for an 88-85 Duck lead with 14 seconds left.  William Paterson used a timeout to set up a play, and Brown made good with his trey with six seconds on the clock, forcing a second overtime period.

William Paterson scored seven of the first eight points of the second OT, pulling ahead by a 95-89 count with 3:26 on the clock.  But Stevens' Simon Smith brought the Ducks back, going 1-for-2 at the line and then converting a pair of Pioneers turnovers into baskets to get Stevens within one at 95-94 1:24 later.

DeStefano answered with a three-pointer (98-94, 1:47), and his two free throws later gave WP a 100-96 advantage with 52 seconds remaining.  Simon scored three unanswered points (100-99, 0:36), and DeStefano went 2-for-2 at the stripe to again make it a three-point margin (102-99, 0:24).  A Jones three-pointer found the bottom of the net with two seconds left, and the two teams found themselves tied, this time at 102-102, as time expired.

Even at 107-107 with 1:48 on the clock, Chandler handed WP a lead with a 2-for-2 effort at the line (109-107, 1:38).  The sides traded turnovers before Stevens could not score after two looks on the offensive end.  Chandler was fouled and made one of two free throws (110-107, 0:16), and after DeStefano pulled down a Russ Thompson miss from three, Chandler was again sent to the line.  He made both free throws to put the game away with four seconds to play.

Smith led Stevens with 28 points and 12 rebounds, and Jones matched his effort with 28 tallies.  Mike Cutri posted 13 points, and Thompson added 11 points and 14 assists.  

William Paterson will open New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) play Tuesday, Nov. 22, at home against The College of New Jersey at 5:30 p.m.