WAYNE, N.J. – No. 22 William Paterson (8-0) scored 10 unanswered points midway through the second half to pull away from visiting Hunter (4-4) for a 71-53 men's basketball victory Dec. 7.

Junior guard Corey Chandler (Newark, N.J./Newark East Side) scored 17 of his game-high 24 points following the intermission, adding five assists and five steals.  Classmate Lance Brown (Teaneck, N.J./Paterson Catholic) compiled his third double-double of the season with 12 points and a game-best 14 rebounds, and sophomore forward Erik Brooks (Saddle Brook, N.J./Paramus Catholic) posted career highs of eight points and nine rebounds.

Back-to-back three-pointers by junior Rick DeStefano (Marlboro, N.J./Marlboro) and Chandler handed WP a 37-27 edge less than three minutes into the second half, and when a 7-2 Hunter spurt made it a five-point game with 11:37 to play (48-43), the Pioneers answered with a 10-0 run, including a four-point play by freshman guard Jaques Conceicao (Massama-Lisboa, Portugal/Francais Charle Lepierre).  William Paterson's lead never dipped below 13 points for the final 9:17 of the contest.

Junior Terry Carpenter led Hunter with 11 points and 11 rebounds.  Senior Anthony Uter chipped in 11 tallies, four blocks and five steals.

The Pioneers turned an 11-5 deficit into a 25-16 lead as WP reeled off a 13-4 run, capped by a Chandler steal and layup at the 6:50 mark of the opening period.  The Hawks scored nine of the next 11 points to make it a one-possession game (27-25, 0:56), but Brooks' wrap-around layup during the final 10 seconds allowed William Paterson to take a 29-25 lead into the locker room.

The Pioneers used a 15-21 advantage in turnovers for a 28-12 edge in points scored off the miscues, and WP out-scored the Hawks 12-0 in transition.

Sophomore center Femi Agunbiade (Maplewood, N.J./Columbia) posted six points, seven boards and three blocked shots off the bench for WP, and junior Julio Rosario (Perth Amboy, N.J./Cardinal McCarrick) contributed six tallies.

William Paterson will host Manhattanville Saturday, Dec. 10, at 3:00 p.m.