Feb 11, 2023
WAYNE, N.J. – Five Pioneers scored in double figures for the William Paterson men's basketball team (10-14, 4-13 NJAC) in a thrilling 99-94 double-overtime New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) victory versus Rutgers-Camden (4-20, 2-15 NJAC) on Feb. 11 at the Sports and Recreation Center.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- Back-to-back layups had the Scarlet Raptors leading by 12 (59-47) with 12 minutes remaining in the second half before a jumper by junior Tyreek Montgomery sparked a 16-6 William Paterson run that pulled the Pioneers within two (65-63) with 6:43 on the clock.
- Rutgers-Camden maintained its slim advantage until the Pioneers pieced together a 10-4 run that started at the 3:29 mark and evened the score at 76-76 with 39 seconds left to play.
- Despite the Scarlet Raptors knocking down three foul shots in the closing 15 seconds to go ahead 79-76, sophomore Neftali Valentin drilled a three-quarter court shot to beat the buzzer and send the game into overtime.
- The Pioneers found themselves trailing by four (85-81) with 2:21 remaining in overtime before junior Shawn Summers Jr. made a layup to make it a two-point contest. It remained that way until William Paterson turned to Summers Jr. again and he buried a midrange jump shot to tie the score and force a second overtime.
- In the second overtime, the Pioneers knocked down their foul shots early and grabbed a six-point edge (91-85) in the opening two minutes. Rutgers-Camden chipped into the deficit and got within one (93-92) with 1:14 remaining, but Valentin buried a triple with 45 seconds on the clock for what turned out to be the dagger as William Paterson secured the thrilling five-point home win.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS:
- Summers Jr. poured in a team-best 25 points on 8-of-14 (.571) shooting to go with 11 rebounds, four assists and three steals.
- It marked his third career double-double and his seventh 20-point performance.
- Valentin recorded 18 points and five boards.
- Senior Adryan Lopez tallied 17 points and seven rebounds.
- Montgomery filled up the stat sheet with 14 points, seven rebounds, five steals and four assists.
- Junior Caesar Silvestro finished the contest with 12 points.
UP NEXT:
- The Pioneers will head to Mahwah, N.J., on Wednesday, Feb. 15, to wrap up the regular season against Ramapo with tipoff slated for 7:30 p.m.