Box Score 

WAYNE, N.J. – Two late free throws by sophomore Gabriel Paul (Hillside, N.J./Hillside) and a final steal by junior Bobby Dunn (Garwood, N.J./Arthur L. Johnson) sealed a 53-51 victory for William Paterson (20-6, 8-5 NJAC) against Kean (12-14, 5-8 NJAC) in the first round of the New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) Men's Basketball Tournament Feb. 21 at the Pioneers' Rec Center.

The Pioneers, seeded second in the North Division, advance to play at No. 10 Richard Stockton, the South Division's number-one seed, in the semifinal round Tuesday, Feb. 24, at 7:00 p.m. Montclair State, the top seed in the North Division, will host the North's third-seeded team, Rutgers-Newark, in a semifinal contest Feb. 24 at 7:00 p.m. The Scarlet Raiders earned a 77-66 first-round win at the South's second seed, The College of New Jersey, earlier today.

William Paterson led by as many as 11 (38-27, 15:09) early in the second half and owned a 48-38 edge with 4:46 to play before the Cougars mounted a comeback, using an old-fashioned three-point play by Brian Lytle and a three-pointer from Akinwande Oshodi to eventually make it a three-point WP advantage at 51-48 with 1:06 remaining. Kean's Eugene Tolliver stole the ball from Dunn with less than 30 seconds to play, but Dunn got the ball right back with a steal of his own, and a Dean Hughes foul sent Paul to the line with 22.7 ticks left. Paul made the first free throw but missed the second, making it a two-possession contest (52-48). Kean twice missed but corralled its own rebound, and Oshodi took advantage of the third opportunity with another trey, making it a 52-51 score. The Pioneers inbounded the ball with 3.4 seconds left, and two ticks later Paul was sent to the line again, this time missing the first attempt but making the second, for a 53-51 contest with 1.3 seconds remaining. Tolliver's long baseball pass made it to the paint on the other end and was batted around until Dunn pulled the ball in along the baseline, denying the Cougars one last chance to score.

Senior Jordan Fowler (East Orange, N.J./Montclair) had team bests of 15 points and seven rebounds for the Pioneers, while classmate Courtney Nelson (Newark, N.J./Bloomfield Tech) had 13 tallies and three assists. Junior guard Joseph Ellis (Newark, N.J./Newark Science) added nine points and four rebounds, and Dunn dished a game-high four assists.

Junior guard Vinnie Darpino led the Cougars with his 17 points, 11 coming during the first half, seven rebounds and five steals. Oshodi had 12 points and five boards.

It was a one-possession game for the first 11:43 of the contest until Nelson buried a three-pointer, making it a five-point WP lead at 18-13 with 8:17 to play in the first half. The Cougars cut that advantage to one three times during the next five minutes, but Fowler's layup sparked a 9-0 William Paterson run to end the half and give the Pioneers a 33-23 halftime lead.