NEWARK, N.J. – Seniors Dapo Badmos and Richy Espinal, and sophomore Sean Smith all eclipsed the 20-point plateau to propel the William Paterson men's basketball team (8-6, 3-4 NJAC) to a 78-59 victory on the road against Rutgers-Newark (5-8, 1-6 NJAC) Jan. 6.

The 78 points were the second most scored in a regulation game for the Pioneers this season (81 vs. York – N.Y., Dec. 18), and as a team WP knocked down 14 three-pointers, matching their highest regulation total this year (14 vs. Montclair State, Dec. 6).

The trifecta of Badmos, Espinal, and Smith accounted for 81 percent of WP's scoring in the win. As a group, they shot 62 (13-21) percent from beyond the arc, grabbed 13 rebounds, and dished out seven assists. Espinal led the way with 22 points on 10-of-17 (.588) shooting in just 26 minutes of action. Badmos was just behind with 21 points, including a 5-of-7 (.714) effort from beyond the arc. The west-coast sharpshooter, Smith, dropped in the majority of his points from three-point land, drilling 6-of-9 (.667) attempts en route to his second career 20-point game.

It was all WP all night, as the Pioneers led wire-to-wire, leading for 39:56 with the score tied for just four seconds after the opening tip. Espinal was dominate in the opening moments of the contest, scoring 12 points on 5-of-7 shooting in the first six minutes. The 12 points launched the Orange and Black to a 16-2 run to open the contest. The domination continued in the opening 20 minutes, with WP knocking down 10 three-pointers in the stanza, including four from Badmos, three from Smith, two from Espinal, and one by freshman Domenic Mignone. The Pioneers recorded an assist on more than half of their buckets (8-of-15), and held an 11-3 advantage in turnovers, leading to 16 points off turnovers in the half. Badmos drilled a three-pointer at the top of the arc as time expired to give WP a 45-23 lead at the half.

It was more of the same in the second half, with the Pioneers opening up a 28-point lead, 57-29, at the 14:07 mark. Rutgers-Newark used two runs to get within 20 points, but the Pioneers dominance was too much to handle, as WP earned their second consecutive New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) victory.

The Pioneers will look to make it three conference wins in a row when they host Kean University on Wednesday, Jan. 10, for an 8:00 p.m. matchup.

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