WAYNE, N.J. – The William Paterson men's basketball team (12-12, 7-10 NJAC) cruised to an 83-47 Senior Day victory against The College of New Jersey (13-11, 8-9 NJAC) Feb. 13.

The win left the Pioneers tied for sixth place in the league standings with one regular-season game remaining. A WP win at Rowan and a Montclair State loss against Stockton Feb. 17 will secure a postseason bid for William Paterson. The top six teams qualify for the NJAC Tournament that begins Feb. 20.

WP scored the first 12 points of the game en route to a 36-23 halftime lead, then seized control of the contest with a 12-3 run to open the second period (48-26, 17:42).

Senior guard Terik Bridgeman (Harlem, N.Y./Nia Prep) collected game bests of 21 points and 10 rebounds. Senior guard Bright Mensah (Hackensack, N.J./Hackensack) had 19 tallies and nine boards, while junior guard Zach Frick (Sparta, N.J./Sparta) contributed 11 tallies.

Sophomore guard Eric Murdock, Jr. led the Lions with 14 points and three assists. Freshman forward Jordan Glover finished with nine rebounds.

 
The Pioneers shot 46.0 (29-63) percent from the field while limiting the Lions to a 14-for-51 (.275) effort, and turned 19 TCNJ turnovers into 25 points.

Prior to the game, WP honored its three seniors – Bridgeman, Mensah and Manny Hernandez (Paterson, N.J./Paramus Catholic).

William Paterson will finish the regular season Wednesday, Feb. 17, at Rowan at 6:00 p.m.

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