WAYNE, N.J. – No. 25 William Paterson (18-3, 12-2 NJAC) blew past visiting Rutgers-Newark (15-7, 9-6 NJAC), 95-61, in New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) men's basketball action Feb. 7. The Pioneers, who started the day in second place in the league standings, moved into the lead by a half-game thanks to their victory against the third-place Scarlet Raiders, coupled with Ramapo's 52-46 win against No. 17 Richard Stockton (12-3 NJAC).

With four regular-season games remaining, WP has secured a berth in the upcoming NJAC Tournament. Senior guards Sandy Burgos (Fort Lee, N.J./Fort Lee) and Jaques Conceicao (Massama-Lisboa, Portugal/Francais Charle Lepierre) both had season bests in scoring with 32 and 19 points, respectively.

The Pioneers came out on fire, lighting it up from beyond the arc by making eight of their first 10 attempts (.800) to build a 20-point lead by the midway point of the period (29-9, 10:12). William Paterson's lead stretched to 37 by halftime (62-25) as it shot 66.7 percent both overall (22-33) and from three-point range (10-15). Burgos poured in 22 points, and Conceicao put in 17 tallies on 4-for-5 (.800) shooting from deep.

WP's largest lead of the afternoon came at the 14:42 mark of the second half (70-32) after a trey by sophomore guard Galen Smith (Piscataway, N.J./Piscataway Tech). For the game, the Pioneers shot it better from beyond the arc (15-25, .600) than they did from inside the three-point line (17-33, .515), and turned a 13-21 turnover margin into a 33-16 advantage in points scored off the miscues.

Burgos dished out a career-high six assists and Conceicao added five. Junior guard/forward Terik Bridgeman (Harlem, N.Y./Nia Prep) finished with 11 tallies, while sophomore guard Turrell McClendon (Piscataway, N.J./Piscataway Tech) had seven points and a game-best six rebounds from off the bench.

Senior guard/forward Christian Garcia paced Rutgers-Newark with 19 points, and junior forward Jordan McDaniel contributed eight.

William Paterson will play at New Jersey City Monday, Feb. 9, at 8:00 p.m.

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