WAYNE, NJ – Rutgers-Newark fell to William Paterson, 70-54, in a New Jersey Athletic Conference game in the WPU Rec Center as the Scarlet Raiders saw their 9-game winning streak snapped.

The Raiders (15-6, NJAC 11-3) were held to their lowest point total of the season by the Pioneers (16-5, NJAC 10-4) who turned 23 Rutgers-Newark turnovers into 26 points to spell the difference.

Junior guard John Snow was the only Raider in double figures with a dozen points on the strength of a seven for 10 night at the free throw line, but Rutgers-Newark connected on just 14 of 44 field goal attempts (31.8%).  Snow also posted a team-high six rebounds.

Sophomore forward David Azoroh netted eight points and snared three rebounds while junior guard Doze Ikwuegbu scored seven.  Sophomore guard Rahim Bunch went four for four from the free throw line to total six points while adding two assists.  Junior guard Chris Foreman came off the bench to log six points on a pair of first-half 3-point jumpers, but the Raiders made just four of 16 shots from beyond the arch on the night.

High-scoring junior forward Christian Garcia was limited to five points, but he added team highs of three assists and three steals.

Senior guard Javae King-Gilchrist hit nine of 11 shots from the floor on his way to game highs of 23 points, seven assists and five steals for the Pioneers who stayed in the thick of the battle with the Raiders and Richard Stockton (16-4, NJAC 10-3) for a first-round bye in the upcoming NJAC Championship Tournament.  The top two regular-season finishers get a bye in the 6-team playoffs.

Guards Sandy Burgos and Bright Mensah netted 11 points apiece with Burgos adding five rebounds to help the Pioneers forge a 30-25 edge in rebounding.  Junior guard Jaques Conceicao registered eight points, six rebounds, four steals and two assists for WPU.

The Raiders jumped out to an early lead and stretched their advantage to 18-10 on a layup by Ikwuegbu with 10:52 left in the opening half.  But King-Gilchrist netted nine points as the Pioneers out scored Rutgers-Newark 23-11 to close out the period.  After a trey by Snow sliced the WPU lead to 31-29 with 37 ticks left in the half, Burgos drained a buzzer-beating jumper to give the Pioneers a 4-point halftime edge.

WPU never gave up the lead in the second period and methodically pulled away to lead by as many as 30 points as they shot a sizzling 69.6% (16-23) for the half.  The Pioneers made six of seven 3-point jumpers in the final 20 minutes to finish the night by connecting on eight of 11.

Rutgers-Newark hosts The College of New Jersey in an NJAC doubleheader on Saturday night in The Golden Dome Arena.  The women's game tips off at 6 with the men to follow at 8.