WAYNE, N.J. – No. 17 William Paterson (21-3, 11-2 NJAC) held off New Jersey City (17-6, 7-5 NJAC) rallies both at the end of regulation and during overtime, eventually coming up with an 85-79 men's basketball home victory Feb. 11.
The Pioneers owned a 73-63 advantage with 2:42 remaining in the second half, but Gothic Knight junior Kaihrique Irick made one free throw and put back a miss of his second, knocking three points off that lead in 15 seconds.
Junior Rick DeStefano (Marlboro, N.J./Marlboro) rebounded a Corey Chandler (Newark, N.J./Newark East Side) missed layup but then turned the ball over, and NJCU's David Cole turned it into three points on the other end (73-69, 1:52). Each team missed before Chandler made a pair from the charity stripe (75-69, 1:01), and New Jersey City's Michael Morris drained a trey on a third offensive opportunity during the next Gothic Knight possession, once again making it a three-point contest (75-72, 0:42).
Morris forced a Chandler turnover just inside the free-throw line and NJCU called a timeout with 8.7 seconds left. Several Pioneers were around Morris in the right corner, and the officials ruled that he was fouled in the act of shooting from behind the arc with 0.9 second on the clock. Morris sank all three attempts to tie the game at 75-75, and New Jersey City came up with the ball on a turnover of the WP inbounds pass, but a quick Cole attempt from deep hit the iron and did not fall.
Junior Thomas Goubadia (Union, N.J./Union) began the overtime with a layup and a 1-for-2 trip to the stripe (78-75, 3:57), but Irick answered with back-to-back field goals to push NJCU ahead, 79-78, with 3:00 remaining. After a Chandler miss, junior Walik Albright failed to convert a pair of free throws for the Gothic Knights, and Goubadia knocked down a baby hook shot after a spin move on the baseline, giving WP a lead it would not relinquish at 80-79 with 2:12 to play.
Albright's turnover and a NJCU foul allowed DeStefano to add two points from the line (82-79, 1:36), and after a Morris miss from deep DeStefano was fouled again, making the second attempt for an 83-79 margin with 39.8 seconds remaining. Freshman James McLane (Belleville, N.J./Queen of Peace) came away with the rebound of a Keith Williams misfire during the final 15 seconds, and DeStefano drained two more foul shots with 10.7 seconds on the clock for the final points.
DeStefano eclipsed the 20-point mark for the second time in four games, collecting 23 tallies on 6-for-10 (.600) shooting from beyond the arc. He added three assists and a game-best four steals. Chandler contributed 19 tallies, seven rebounds and a game-high seven assists, while junior Lance Brown (Teaneck, N.J./Paterson Catholic) contributed 15 points. Junior Julio Rosario (Perth Amboy, N.J./Cardinal McCarrick) scored 10 points off the bench, and Goubadia posted nine tallies and seven boards.
The Gothic Knights put together a 12-2 run late in the first half, turning a 20-20 deadlock at the 6:15 mark into a 34-22 lead with 1:53 on the clock. NJCU took a 36-25 lead into the break after shooting 59.1 (13-22) percent from the field during the opening 20 minutes. Albright led all scorers at the break with 10 points.
William Paterson fought back to knot the score at 49-49 midway through the second half, and a 19-5 Pioneer burst made it a 68-59 score with 5:03 to play in the second half.
Irick led a balanced Gothic Knight offense with 19 points, one of five players in double figures. Albright posted 15 tallies, and senior Matt Washington had a double-double with 13 points and a game-high 10 rebounds.
NJCU was better overall from the floor, shooting 50.0 (26-52) percent compared to WP's 43.5 (27-62) percent. However, the Pioneers were 8-for-17 (.471) from three-point range, while the Gothic Knights connected on two of 11 (.182) attempts from beyond the arc.
William Paterson will finish the regular season Tuesday, Feb. 14, at home against CCNY at 7:00 p.m. before hosting a New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) Tournament semifinal game Wednesday, Feb. 22, at 7:00 p.m.