NEWARK, N.J. – William Paterson's (13-8, 8-6 NJAC) strong start was for naught as the Pioneers suffered a 68-62 loss at Rutgers-Newark (15-6, 9-5 NJAC) in men's basketball action Jan. 30.

The Pioneers jumped out to a 19-7 advantage less than eight minutes into the contest and led by as many as 21 (36-15, 6:04) during the first half en route to a 45-26 score at the break.  WP took advantage of 47.1 (16-34) percent shooting during the game's first 20 minutes, including a 7-for-13 (.538) effort from three-point range, and turned the ball over just four times.

The Scarlet Raiders scored 10 of the first 14 points following the intermission, and a later 12-1 run pulled Rutgers-Newark to within two at 57-55 with 3:46 remaining.  The two teams traded baskets until Christian Garcia made a pair of free throws and Hussein Abdelmaksoud converted a layup, knotting the score at 62-62 with 1:51 left.  WP's miss was followed by an Al'Don Muhammed three-pointer (65-62, 1:02), and another Pioneer miss and foul allowed Abdelmaksoud to go to the free-throw line and make one of two attempts (66-62, 0:43).  A turnover with 22 seconds remaining led to a Garcia layup with 16 seconds on the clock to finish the scoring.

Following a hot first half, William Paterson was 5-for-26 (.192) during the second period while allowing the Scarlet Raiders to compile a .519 (14-27) field-goal percentage.

Senior guard Rick DeStefano (Marlboro, N.J./Marlboro) was 6-for-8 (.750) from behind the arc, scoring a season-high 22 points.  Sophomore guard Jaques Conceicao (Massama-Lisboa, Portugal/Francais Charle Lepierre) had 13 tallies and seven rebounds, and senior guard/forward Lance Brown (Teaneck, N.J./Paterson Catholic) chipped in 11 points and nine rebounds.

Garcia led Rutgers-Newark with 18 points, Muhammed finished with 14 tallies, and Abdelmaksoud had 10 points and six rebounds.

William Paterson will host New Jersey City Saturday, Feb. 2, at 1:00 p.m.

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