WAYNE, N.J. – After building a 21-point lead early in the second half, William Paterson (2-0) survived a late flurry, holding off Lehman (1-2) for an 80-76 men's basketball victory Nov. 19 at the Rec Center.

Junior 6-2 guard Sandy Burgos (Fort Lee, N.J./Fort Lee) led four Pioneers in double figures with 26 points. Senior 6-2 guard Javae King-Gilchrist (Teaneck, N.J./Teaneck) collected 19 tallies, four assists and three steals, and sophomore 6-4 guard Bright Mensah (Hackensack, N.J./Hackensack) posted 18 points, seven rebounds and a game-best eight assists. Junior 6-3 guard Jaques Conceicao (Massama-Lisboa, Portugal/Francais Charle Lepierre) finished with 10 tallies and senior 6-8 forward Erik Brooks (Saddle Brook, N.J./Paramus Catholic) pulled down a team-leading eight rebounds.

The Pioneers held a comfortable lead during the early going, but blew the first half open with a 13-2 burst that was ignited by back-to-back three-pointers by Burgos. WP had built its largest lead of the period at 39-22 with 4:51 remaining, and carried a 49-33 advantage into the locker room.

William Paterson owned a 21-point three different times during the second half, the last at 73-52 with 6:38 to play, and it was a still a double-digit margin with 62 seconds remaining (79-69) as the Pioneers' bench saw the majority of action during the final four minutes.

A turnover and foul put the Lightning at the free-throw line, and junior 6-2 forward/guard Brandon Stolz made one of two attempts (79-70, 0:51). WP was whistled for a 10-second violation, but a Stolz miss from beyond the arc and later foul allowed junior 6-2 guard Justin Grant (Springfield, N.J./Jonathan Dayton) to step to the line and make the first of two (80-70, 0:31).

Senior 6-0 guard Ryan Alvarado's second-chance bucket cut it to eight (80-72, 0:19), and following a Pioneer miss, a Stolz putback made it a two-possession game at 80-74 with five seconds left. A turnover on the inbounds pass resulted in the final points of the game, a Kelvin Gill layup as time expired.

Stolz paced Lehman with 20 points and five rebounds, adding 10 rebounds, while sophomore 6-6 forward Jerrome Jones collected 18 tallies and 10 boards. Alvardo posted 13 points.

William Paterson will start New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) action Saturday, Nov. 23, at The College of New Jersey at 3:00 p.m.

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