GALLOWAY, N.J. – Forty points off the hot hand of senior guard Joseph Taylor (Camden, N.J./Woodrow Wilson) helped lift the William Paterson men's basketball team (10-10, 6-7 NJAC) to a 79-72 victory at Stockton (9-9, 4-8 NJAC) Jan. 28.

Taylor was 13-for-23 (.565) from the field, 5-for-10 (.500) from behind the arc and 9-for-10 (.900) from the free-throw line for his career-best 40 tallies, adding eight rebounds. He nearly eclipsed her previous career high (28 at Ramapo, 1/18/17) with 25 during the first half alone. Senior guard Zach Frick (Sparta, N.J./Sparta) chipped in 14 points, while senior forward Richy Espinal (Ridgefield Park, N.J./Ridgefield Park) collected a game-best nine rebounds.

The Ospreys controlled the early action, building a 25-13 lead by the 7:56 mark, before the Pioneers reeled off 14 unanswered points, including 11 from Taylor, for a 27-25 advantage with 5:38 left in the first half. Nine lead changes and three ties resulted in a 40-38 Stockton halftime lead.

Frick's opening three-pointer swung the advantage back to WP to start the second half, and a later 10-2 run handed the Pioneers a 59-50 lead with 8:43 remaining. William Paterson stretched it to as many as 15 (70-55, 5:07) and owned a 76-65 edge with 1:57 left, but the Ospreys got within five, 77-72 with 48 seconds to play. Misses by both teams were followed by a Taylor layup to put the game away with 24 seconds left.

Junior forward Marcus Harmon and junior guard Khaliq Ford each scored 17 points for Stockton.

William Paterson will host Montclair State Wednesday, Feb. 1, at 8:00 p.m.

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