EWING, N.J. – In a game that featured 20 ties and 18 lead changes, the William Paterson men's basketball team (11-5, 7-3 NJAC) came away from The College of New Jersey (4-12, 2-8 NJAC) with a 65-61 victory Jan. 16. The decision extended the Pioneers' win streak to seven games.
Freshman guard/forward Terik Bridgeman (Harlem, N.Y./Nia Prep) posted his seventh double-double of the season with game bests of 18 points and 14 rebounds, adding three blocked shots. Freshman guard Bright Mensah (Hackensack, N.J./Hackensack) had 13 tallies and five boards, and senior guard/forward Lance Brown (Teaneck, N.J./Paterson Catholic) added 11 points and nine rebounds.
The Lions led 36-33 at halftime and matched their largest advantage of the game when they pulled ahead by a 40-35 count with 18:37 to play. Twelve lead changes and seven ties marked the next 16 minutes of game action, resulting in a 59-58 WP edge with 2:23 on the clock after Brown drained a jumper. The two teams traded misses before Emmanuel Matlock's 1-for-2 trip to the free-throw line again deadlocked the score, this time at 59-59 at the 1:14 mark.
Senior guard Rick DeStefano (Marlboro, N.J./Marlboro) pushed William Paterson ahead by a 61-59 count with a long jumper with 50 seconds left, but Matlock answered when he banked in a 10-footer with 18 seconds on the clock. Mensah drove the lane and converted while being fouled, again handing the Pioneers a two-point edge (63-61, 0:06). He missed the free throw, but Brown pulled down the rebound and was fouled. He made both from the stripe with three seconds left to put the game away.
Alex Fox led four Lions in double figures with 13 points.
WP shot 44.7 (21-47) percent from the field compared to TCNJ's 38.3 (23-60) percent effort, but the Lions turned the ball over just five times compared to the Pioneers' 19 miscues.
William Paterson will host Richard Stockton Saturday, Jan. 19, at 1:00 p.m.
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