UNION, N.J. – Junior guard Zach Frick (Sparta, N.J./Sparta) poured in a career-high 26 points, but the William Paterson men's basketball team (7-5, 2-4 NJAC) fell short at Kean (2-9, 2-4 NJAC), 78-73, Jan. 6.

Six lead changes marked a tightly-contested first half, and a late 7-0 Cougar burst left WP with a 34-33 edge at the break behind 14 tallies from Frick.

Kean opened the second period by scoring 10 of the first 13 points, surging ahead by a 43-37 count with 16:42 to play. When senior guard Bright Mensah (Hackensack, N.J./Hackensack) answered with back-to-back three-pointers to knot the score at 43-43 less than a minute later, it began a four-minute stretch that ended with a 52-52 deadlock at the 12:16 mark.

The Cougars held their largest lead of the night at 63-54 with 7:43 on the clock before the Pioneers ripped off seven unanswered points (63-61, 6:11), and two later Frick free throws made it a 74-71 deficit with 47 seconds left. Freshman forward Micah Kerr made it a two-possession game with a 1-for-2 trip to the charity stripe (75-71, 0:34), and after a WP turnover, Kean sank two more free throws with 17 seconds remaining. Senior guard Manny Hernandez (Paterson, N.J./Paramus Catholic) tipped in a Pioneer miss (77-73, 0:11), but the Cougars put the game away for good with another make from the stripe with four seconds to play.

Mensah contributed 22 points and a team-best nine rebounds, while Hernandez finished with 10 tallies.

Senior guard Tommy Soulias had 19 points and seven rebounds for Kean, and Kerr added 16 tallies.

William Paterson will host Rutgers-Newark Saturday, Jan. 9, at 3:00 p.m.

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