WAYNE, N.J. – For the second time this season, the William Paterson men's basketball team (16-9, 11-7 NJAC) upset nationally-ranked Ramapo (21-4, 15-3 NJAC), this time by a 61-60 count Feb. 13 on Senior Night at the Rec Center.

Fourth-seeded William Paterson will host fifth-seeded Rowan in the first round of the New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) Tournament Saturday, Feb. 16, at 1:00 p.m.  The winner will advance to the semifinals Tuesday, Feb. 19, at top-seeded Ramapo.

WP earned a 65-64 victory at then seventh-ranked Ramapo on Jan. 9, giving William Paterson the season sweep of the home-and-home series.

Six lead changes and four ties marked the game's first 20 minutes, but the No. 16 Roadrunners reeled off the final six tallies of the period to stake themselves to a 28-23 halftime advantage.  It quickly expanded to a nine-point margin (38-29, 17:02), and a 1-for-2 trip to the free-throw line by senior Elgin Brown made it a 46-38 score with 12:17 left.

A Bright Mensah (Hackensack, N.J./Hackensack) layup, two Thomas Goubadia (Union, N.J./Union) free throws and a Julio Rosario (Perth Amboy, N.J./Cardinal McCarrick) three-pointer pulled WP to within one at 46-45 with 9:34 on the clock, and less than 90 seconds later Rosario's steal and fast-break layup nudged the Pioneers ahead by a 47-46 count.  The two teams combined for four missed shots and three turnovers before Rosario drained a three-pointer as the clock shot expired, handing the Pioneers a four-point lead with 5:59 remaining.

Stephon Treadwell's three-point play pulled Ramapo within one (50-49, 5:21), but senior guard Rick DeStefano (Marlboro, N.J./Marlboro) answered with a bomb from beyond the arc during the Pioneers' next possession.  WP fouled the Roadrunners during Ramapo's next two possessions, but Brown and Will Sanborn made just a combined two of their four attempts, leaving it a 53-51 William Paterson lead with 4:22 to play.

Garret Thiel's 1-for-2 trip to the charity stripe and Sanborn's layup at the 3:05 mark put the Roadrunners in the lead for the first time in more than six minutes at 54-53, but it was short lived as DeStefano drained his third three-pointer of the night just 19 seconds later.  A Sanborn jumper knotted the score at 56-56 with 2:29 to play, but Brown could not cash in after being fouled, missing twice from the stripe 20 seconds later.

DeStefano again hit from long range, breaking the deadlock for a 59-56 count at the 1:45 mark.  Sanborn missed the equalizer, but Thiel was fouled after collecting the offensive rebound, making a pair of free throws (59-58, 1:27).

Senior guard/forward Lance Brown (Teaneck, N.J./Paterson Catholic) pushed the lead back to three with a jumper from the left corner (61-58, 1:02) before Treadwell was fouled, connecting on both attempts to again bring the margin to one at 61-60, 0:53).

Freshman guard/forward Terik Bridgeman (Harlem, N.Y./Nia Prep) saw his layup blocked and was unable to collect the rebound before the shot clock expired, giving the ball back to the Roadrunners with 17.3 seconds left.  Anthony LoRusso had a look at the right block but missed during the final 10 seconds, and the rebound was tipped around until Elgin Brown pulled it down.  His three-footer also was no good, and the loose ball was collected by Lance Brown, who dribbled out and sprinted to the other end as time expired.

Lance Brown finished with 15 points and eight rebounds, while DeStefano had 14 tallies.  Rosario posted 10 points and three assists, and sophomore guard Jaques Conceicao (Massama-Lisboa, Portugal/Francais Charle Lepierre) had seven points and nine boards.  William Paterson overcame a 26-3 deficit in free throws attempted (18-3 margin in makes) by draining eight three-pointers.

Sanborn led all scorers with 20 points.  Treadwell had 17 tallies, Thiel finished with 10, and Elgin Brown contributed eight points and 16 rebounds.

Prior to the game, William Paterson honored its four seniors – Brown, DeStefano, Goubadia and Rosario.

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