Box Score
MAHWAH, N.J. – William Paterson (19-5, 8-4 NJAC) locked up a bid to the upcoming New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) Men's Basketball Tournament with an 81-59 victory at Ramapo (13-11, 6-7 NJAC) Feb. 14.
William Paterson's win, coupled with a Montclair State (10-2 NJAC) victory at Rutgers-Newark (6-6 NJAC) Feb. 14, means that the Pioneers will be the North Division's second seed in the upcoming NJAC Tournament. WP will host a first-round game against the South Division's third seed Saturday, Feb. 21.
Sophomore forward
Shaun Canty (Englewood, N.J./Paramus Catholic) led William Paterson with 17 points, while seniors
Jordan Fowler (East Orange, N.J./Montclair) and
Courtney Nelson (Newark, N.J./Bloomfield Tech) each had 15 tallies. Fowler collected a team-best six rebounds, and Nelson posted four assists and a game-high five steals.
The Roadrunners jumped out to a five-point, 28-23 lead at the half behind 16 points from senior Tim Wesley. Ramapo led for most of the opening 20 minutes, the largest margin coming at the 12:39 mark when a two-point goal from Wesley put the Roadrunners up, 15-5. A mini 4-0 run sparked by Canty brought the Pioneers within four, 19-15, but a three-pointer from Wesley pushed Ramapo ahead by seven with just over seven minutes to play. Junior
Manny Perrotte (Piscataway, N.J./Piscataway) answered with a three-pointer of his own to cut Ramapo's lead to four, and a
Chris Brown (Newark, N.J./Newark Science) tip-in at 4:23 pulled the Pioneers within two, 22-20. The Roadrunners outscored the Pioneers by a slim 6-3 margin during the final minutes to head into the locker room with the five-point advantage. WP was led by Fowler's nine points during the first 20 minutes of play, as the Pioneers shot 9-of-26 (.346), while Ramapo hit 12 of 24 (.500) attempts.
The lead changed three times during the opening 7:15 of the second period, but after the game's sixth tie at the 12:45 mark, 39-39, the Pioneers took complete control with a 6-0 run sparked by Canty to gain a 45-39 advantage with 10:54 on the clock. The Pioneers slowly built on their lead, outscoring Ramapo 36-20 during the final minutes to take the 81-59 victory. Fifteen of Canty's 17 points came during the second half when he shot 4-for-5 from the field and 7-for-8 from the charity stripe. William Paterson shot a sizzling 61.8 (21-34) percent from the field during the second period while limiting Ramapo to an 8-of-27 (.296) effort.
William Paterson's defense turned 24 Ramapo turnovers into 27 Pioneer points, and WP outscored the Roadrunners in the paint, 40-16.
Wesley led the Roadrunners with 25 points and rookie Garret Thiel contributed eight.
William Paterson will host Montclair State Wednesday, Feb. 18, at 8:00 p.m. in the regular-season finale.
