Box Score
MAHWAH, N.J. – The William Paterson men's basketball team (5-1, 1-0 NJAC) opened New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) play with a 61-58 victory at Ramapo (4-1, 0-1 NJAC) Dec. 2.
Senior
Joseph Ellis (Newark, N.J./Newark Science) led all scorers with 15 points, including a 9-for-14 effort at the free-throw line. Junior
Gabriel Paul (Hillside, N.J./Hillside) had 12 tallies and five rebounds, and senior
Bobby Dunn (Garwood, N.J./Arthur L. Johnson Regional) contributed 11 points and seven rebounds. Senior
Abdoulaye Ouedraogo (Newark, N.J./Newark Science) chipped in nine points and a team-high nine rebounds and six blocked shots.
Ahead by as many as 10 during the opening stanza, the Pioneers took a 31-25 lead into the locker room. That advantage grew to as many as 12 at 45-33 with 11:45 to play, but the Roadrunners fought back with a 9-0 run to make it a 45-42 contest less than five minutes later.
William Paterson momentarily pulled ahead by five, but a 6-0 Ramapo burst eventually gave the Roadrunners a 53-51 edge at the 5:39 mark. That would be the home team's last lead, as a Dunn jumper knotted the score with 5:15 left, followed by another Dunn basket to push WP ahead, 55-53, with 4:38 to play.
After a Ramapo free throw cut the two-point edge in half, an Ellis free throw, an
Eric Moore (Dover, N.J./St. Benedict's Prep) three-pointer and two points from the line by Ouedraogo opened up a six-point lead for the Pioneers (60-54) with 1:27 on the clock. AJ LoRusso's three-pointer made it a one-possession game with 30 seconds left, and a WP foul on the shot allowed LoRusso to step to the line and make it a four-point play (60-58). William Paterson turned the ball over during its next possession, but LaQuan Peterkin could not make the Pioneers pay for their mistake as his potential game-tying shot was blocked by Ouedraogo during the final five seconds. Dunn collected the rebound and was fouled, making one of two from the stripe (61-58, 0:01).
Peterkin notched a double-double with 14 points and 12 rebounds. Travis Conyers added 11 points.
William Paterson will host The College of New Jersey Saturday, Dec. 5, at 1:00 p.m.
