Box Score

NEWARK, N.J. – Freshman guard Gabriel Paul (Hillside, N.J./Hillside) had 10 of his 13 points, and senior guard Joey Spiegel (Teaneck, N.J./Teaneck) netted six of his 11, in the second half as William Paterson (18-6, 10-3 NJAC) rallied for a 61-58 New Jersey Athletic Conference win at Rutgers-Newark (13-12, 6-7 NJAC) Feb. 23 in the regular-season finale.

The win locked up the top seed in the North Division and a first-round bye for William Paterson in the upcoming NJAC Tournament. The Pioneers will host the winner Rowan/Montclair State first-round game in the NJAC semifinals Thursday, Feb. 28, at 7:00 p.m. at the Rec Center.

Paul had four free throws and Spiegel converted a conventional thre-point play to cap a 9-1 Pioneer run that gave the visitors the lead for good at 54-51 after two ties and five lead changes in the second half.

The Scarlet Raiders twice cut the lead to one down the stretch. Junior guard Chadd Barnes, who scored all of his 15 points in the second half, dropped in a pair of free throws to make it 54-53 before WP sophomore guard Bobby Dunn (Garwood, N.J./Johnson Regional) nailed a three-point jumper at 2:03 to boost the Pioneers back up by four. Junior forward David Cherry, who netted a game-high 19 points to go along with eight rebounds, drained a three-pointer from the left corner with nine seconds left to trim the deficit to 59-58. But, Paul knocked down two free throws after being fouled on the ensuing inbounds play to ice the win with 3.9 seconds left. Rutgers-Newark never got off a final shot.

Spiegel added four rebounds, three assists and two steals to his totals, while Paul collected seven rebounds and made nine of 12 free throws as William Paterson out-scored the Raiders by seven at the free throw line.

Sophomore forward Abdoulaye Ouedraogo (Newark, N.J./Newark Science) hauled down a game-high nine rebounds to help the Pioneers control the boards, 39-29. Senior guard Jason Cameron (Cliffside Park, N.J./Cliffside Park) and sophomore guard Joseph Ellis (Newark, N.J./Newark Science) chipped in nine points apiece for WP.