WAYNE, N.J. – William Paterson (9-9, 4-7 NJAC) held a lead late, but New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) men's basketball leader New Jersey City (11-6, 9-2 NJAC) rallied for an 85-81 victory Jan. 27.
The Pioneers owned their largest advantage of the night at 61-52 with 11:56 left, and held a 76-69 edge with 4:18 to play before a layup, two free throws and a three-pointer by the Gothic Knights knotted the score at 76-76 with 2:50 remaining. A 1-for-2 trip to the free-throw line by senior guard Manny Hernandez (Paterson, N.J./Paramus Catholic) and two makes from the charity stripe by NJCU's Ata Robinson left it a 78-77 Gothic Knight lead at the 2:25 mark.
After misses by each team, Hernandez put down a layup (79-78, 1:52), followed immediately by a Yuri Brutus bucket (80-79, 1:43). WP turned it over on its next possession, but Hernandez got his fingertips on a pass and drove and finished on the other end to again make it a one-point Pioneer lead (81-80, 0:49). Junior Jalen Harris answered with a jumper in the paint (82-81, 0:32), and after a WP offensive foul, freshman James Julius pushed New Jersey City's lead to two at 83-81 by making the first of two free throws with 16 seconds on the clock.
William Paterson had a chance to tie the score, but two misses from the charity stripe with 8.7 seconds to play were followed by a 2-for-2 trip by NJCU's James Frazier with seven seconds left.
Junior guard Zach Frick (Sparta, N.J./Sparta) had a team-best 21 points for the Pioneers, while senior guard Bright Mensah (Hackensack, N.J./Hackensack) collected 17 tallies and five assists. Senior guard Terik Bridgeman (Harlem, N.Y./Nia Prep) posted 15 points and a season-high 16 rebounds, Hernandez finished with 13 tallies, and junior forward Richy Espinal (Ridgefield Park, N.J./Ridgefield Park) added 11 points and five assists.
Harris scored 22 points and Frazier had 20 for the Gothic Knights.
New Jersey City opened up a 10-2 lead less than five minutes into the contest, but seven straight points, including five from Frick, made it a 33-26 WP margin with 2:00 left. The Gothic Knights scored the final seven points of the period to send the two teams into their locker rooms tied at 35-35.
William Paterson will visit Stockton Saturday, Jan. 30, at 1:00 p.m.
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