Box Score

WAYNE, N.J. (NOVEMBER 21, 2006) – The No. 7 William Paterson men's basketball team (3-0) used a 23-5 run midway through the second half to pull away from New York City Tech (1-2), 78-52, in the Pioneers' home opener Nov. 21 at the Rec Center.

WPU jumped out to a 12-2 lead thanks to hot shooting from the start, but the Yellow Jackets quickly trimmed the advantage to two (21-19, 5:12). But, a pair of free throws from senior 6-5 forward and all-American Luis Martinez (Passaic, N.J./Clifton), followed by back-to-back threes from senior 6-5 forward Samir Sanu (Edison, N.J./Sayreville) and junior 5-11 guard Joey Spiegel (Teaneck, N.J./Teaneck), formed a 10-0 run for the Pioneers and helped propel WPU to a 32-21 halftime lead.

City Tech again cut into the Pioneers' lead early in the second half (39-34, 14:07), but a 23-5 spurt put the game out of reach for good (62-39, 7:07).

Martinez led the way with 20 points, and he tied with Sanu for the team lead in rebounding (eight). Both Spiegel and Sanu registered 11 points for William Paterson.

The Pioneers were ranked seventh by d3hoops.com, third by DIII News and ninth by Street & Smith's in the groups' preseason national polls.

William Paterson will start a three-game road trip Saturday, Nov. 25, at York at 2:00 p.m.