MAHWAH, N.J. – William Paterson men's basketball team (20-5, 14-4 NJAC) posted its 20th win, 81-61 at Ramapo (9-16, 6-12), during the regular-season finale Feb. 19. The second-seeded Pioneers will host a New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) Tournament semifinal contest Wednesday, Feb. 26, at a time to be determined.
The Pioneers will face the winner of the No. 6 Montclair State at No. 3 Rutgers-Newark first-round game to be played Saturday, Jan. 22.
WP scored 13 of the last 18 points of the first half to establish a 37-27 lead at the break, and when the Roadrunners cut it to five at 50-45 with 11:10 to play, the Pioneers put the game away with a 24-5 burst to seize a 74-50 advantage with 3:50 remaining.
William Paterson dominated the boards, 44-28, and shot 49.1 (28-57) percent from the field while limiting Ramapo to a 17-for-50 (.340) effort.
Senior guard Sandy Burgos (Fort Lee, N.J./Fort Lee) led all players with 21 points, and senior guard Javae King-Gilchrist (Teaneck, N.J./Teaneck) had 16 tallies and a season-best 17 rebounds. Freshman forward Nick Smith (Elmwood Park, N.J./Memorial) finished with 14 points off the bench, while junior guard Jaques Conceicao (Massama-Lisboa, Portugal/Francais Charle Lepierre) collected 10 tallies and seven boards.
Jermaine Emanuel was the only Roadrunner in double figures with 19 points.
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