EWING, N.J. – The William Paterson men's basketball team (9-13, 3-12 NJAC) dropped a New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) game 84-77 to The College of New Jersey (TCNJ) (8-14, 7-8 NJAC) on Feb. 4.  


HOW IT HAPPENED:

• TCNJ carried a 14-point advantage (43-29) into the second half after shooting 50 percent (15-of-30) from the floor with six 3-pointers in the opening 20 minutes of action.
• The lead grew to as large as 17 (53-36) with 14:25 remaining in the game before an and-1 layup by senior Adryan Lopez sparked a 15-4 William Paterson run that brought the Pioneers within six (57-51).
• The two sides began to trade baskets, but with 6:10 on the clock, junior Shawn Summers Jr. led the Pioneers on a 10-2 run that lasted 2:18 and evened the score at 70 apiece. During that run, William Paterson went 5-of-6 from the floor with Summers Jr. pacing the offensive efforts with six points.
• With less than four minutes left to play, the Lions got back into the driver's seat and took control of the game by outscoring the Pioneers, 9-3, before closing out the contest and securing the home conference victory.

 
INSIDE THE NUMBERS:

• Lopez shot 8-of-10 (.800) from the floor, 3-of-3 (1.000) from deep and 4-of-4 (1.000) from the foul line to finish with a career-high 23 points.
• It marked his second 20-point performance of the season.
• Summers Jr. recorded 20 points on 10-of-15 (.667) shooting to go with four rebounds, three steals, a pair of assists and a block.  
• It was his sixth 20-point game of the season.
• Junior Tyreek Montgomery logged 15 points in the scoring column to pair with a team-high six rebounds. He added three assists and two steals to his stat line.

 
UP NEXT:

• The Pioneers will return to the Sports and Recreation Center on Wednesday, Feb. 8, to welcome Rutgers-Newark for an 8:00 p.m. NJAC contest.