WAYNE, N.J. – The William Paterson men's basketball team (9-5, 6-3 NJAC) extended its win streak to five games with a 61-48 victory against Rutgers-Camden (5-10, 3-6 NJAC) Jan. 12 at the Rec Center.

Holding a 27-24 halftime lead, the Pioneers started the second period with a 15-3 run to take control of the contest at 42-27 with 13:06 remaining.  The Scarlet Raptors briefly made it a two-possession game (43-37, 7:56), but freshman guard/forward Terik Bridgeman's (Harlem, N.Y./Nia Prep) layup sparked a 10-0 WP burst that put the game out of reach at 53-37 at the 4:28 mark.

A 9-2 run handed WP its largest lead of the first half at 19-12 with 6:57 on the clock, and when the Scarlet Raptors cut it to one (21-20, 3:03), senior guard Rick DeStefano (Marlboro, N.J./Marlboro) drained one of his four three-pointers of the period to help WP carry a 27-24 lead into the break.

DeStefano scored all of his game-high 14 points during the first half, while Bridgeman finished with 11 tallies and eight rebounds.  Freshman guard Bright Mensah (Hackensack, N.J./Hackensack) chipped in 11 points and senior guard/forward Lance Brown (Teaneck, N.J./Paterson Catholic) contributed nine tallies.

Sophomore Teon Russell had 12 points and nine rebounds to lead Rutgers-Camden.  Junior Woody Redding added 10 tallies

William Paterson will host Brooklyn Monday, Jan. 14, at 7:00 p.m.

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