WAYNE, N.J. – The No. 22 William Paterson men's basketball team (8-1) suffered its first loss of the season as its late-game rally fell short against visiting Manhattanville (4-5), 83-80, Dec. 10.
Trailing by 10 at 72-62 with 3:22 remaining, junior Lance Brown (Teaneck, N.J./Paterson Catholic) converted on three consecutive layups to pull the Pioneers within four (72-68, 2:32). Following the Valiants' third consecutive turnover, junior Corey Chandler (Newark, N.J./Newark East Side) was fouled, and he sank a pair from the stripe to make it a one-possession game at 72-70 with 2:20 to play.
Manhattanville once again turned the ball over, but WP missed on the other end and later fouled, sending Trevoy Pointer to the line. He knocked down a pair (74-70, 1:45), but freshman James McLane (Belleville, N.J./Queen of Peace) answered with a bucket 20 seconds later (74-72, 1:25).
Armani Blackmon stretched the lead back to four, 76-72, for Manhattanville with a layup at the 1:09 mark, and Brown cut that advantage in half with a second-chance basket with 52 seconds remaining (76-74). Pointer was fouled and went 2-for-2 at the stripe (78-74, 0:52), but Chandler's transition layup with 39 seconds remaining made it a 78-76 score.
The Pioneers sent Colin Campbell to the line three seconds later and he missed both, and Jack Bramswig turned it over after his offensive rebound of the second attempt. Chandler drove the lane with a chance to tie the contest, but he missed from the left side of the rim, and WP was forced to foul when Blackmon came down with the rebound. He made both shots from the free-throw line for an 80-76 Valiant edge with 23.0 seconds to play.
Chandler's bucket made it an 80-78 score with 16.7 seconds on the clock, but Jeffrey Ventura's two free throws stretched the Manhattanville lead back to four (82-78, 12.3). Chandler once again scored in transition (82-80, 6.3), and a foul put Campbell back on the line with 5.2 seconds remaining. He missed the first and made the second (83-80), giving WP one last opportunity. McLane's inbounds pass was intercepted by Ventura, but he could not retain possession. Brown grabbed the loose ball, but the Pioneers could not get a final attempt off in time.
Chandler finished with 32 points and seven rebounds, and Brown posted 24 tallies and 13 boards. Senior guard Joey Castro (West Paterson, N.J./Passaic Valley Regional) contributed eight points, nine rebounds, five assists and four steals off the William Paterson bench.
Pointer scored 21 points to lead Manhattanville. Blackmon had 18 tallies and 12 rebounds, Ivan Jovicic contributed 12 points, and Bramswig finished with eight points and 10 boards.
WP reeled off a 12-2 run to lead by as many as 11 (30-19, 3:05) during the first half, and entered the locker room with a 33-24 advantage. The Valiants erased that deficit by scoring the first 14 points of the second period, seizing a 38-33 lead with 16:51 remaining.
Manhattanville was 8-for-17 (.471) from three-point range, while the Pioneers were just 2-for-20 (.100).
William Paterson will finish its seven-game homestand Friday, Dec. 16, against Lehman at 6:00 p.m.