NEWARK, N.J. – William Paterson (5-2, 2-1 NJAC) owned a double-digit, second-half lead but couldn't hold off host Rutgers-Newark (5-2, 2-1 NJAC), 64-62, in men's basketball action Dec. 7.

Sophomore forward David Azoroh blocked a driving layup by Pioneer senior guard Javae King-Gilchrist (Teaneck, N.J./Teaneck) with two seconds left to preserve the Scarlet Raider victory in a game that featured six ties and three lead changes during the final eight minutes of play.

Junior guards Doze Ikwuegbu with 28 seconds left and John Snow with seven ticks remaining each made the first of two free throws to break a 62-62 tie and provide the margin of victory.

After having led for the entire first half and 31-23 at the break, William Paterson pushed its lead to 39-27 with 18:03 left on a layup by freshman guard Turrell McClendon (Piscataway, N.J./Piscataway Tech).  Rutgers-Newark refused to let the Pioneers break away as junior forward Christian Garcia and sophomore forward Jordan McDaniel had four points apiece during an 8-2 answering run during the next three minutes.

A pair of King-Gilchrist free throws put the Pioneers ahead, 49-41 with 12:16 left, before the Raiders ran off eight straight points to finally catch WP with 7:55 remaining on a pair of free throws by Azoroh.

Rutgers-Newark tied the game four more times before finally taking the lead at 60-59 with three minutes left on a pair of free throws by junior Chris Foreman.  The lead see-sawed on layups by Pioneer freshman guard Zach Frick (Sparta, N.J./Sparta) at the 2:25 mark and Azoroh with 1:59 left before freshman forward Nick Smith (Elmwood Park, N.J./Memorial) knotted the game for the final time at 62-62 by making the first of two free throws with 1:01 remaining.

Garcia, who netted his season high in points, added eight rebounds to his line for the night, while Azoroh came off the bench for a double-double with 14 points, 10 rebounds and a game-high three blocked shots.  Foreman chipped in 10 points and five rebounds to help the Scarlet Raiders construct a 43-37 edge on the boards. Snow was limited to seven points, but he contributed six rebounds and two assists.

King-Gilchrist posted a double-double with a team-high 25 points and a game-high 14 rebounds for WP, and junior guard Sandy Burgos (Fort Lee, N.J./Fort Lee) dropped in nine of his 10 free throws on his way to 15 points.  Sophomore guard Bright Mensah (Hackensack, N.J./Hackensack) netted nine points before drawing his fifth personal foul.

The game featured 49 personal fouls, with the Pioneers making 22 of 34 (.647) free throws while the Raiders went 20-for-28 (.714) at the charity stripe.

William Paterson will host Rowan Wednesday, Dec.11, at 6:00 p.m.

For all of the latest information on the Pioneers, visit http://www.wpupioneers.com, http://www.facebook.com/wpupioneers, http://www.youtube.com/thewpupioneers and http://twitter.com/wpupioneers.