Box Score
WAYNE, N.J. – William Paterson (9-4, 2-2 NJAC) scored seven straight points to break a 44-44 tie and get past visiting Rowan (5-8, 0-3 NJAC), 58-55, in a New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) men's basketball contest on Jan. 8.
The Profs shot 57.1 (12-21) percent from the field en route to building a 30-23 halftime advantage, using 13 points from freshman center Chris Gebhart, while limiting William Paterson to an 8-for-27 (.296) effort.
Rowan led by seven as late as the 14:01 mark of the second half (36-29) before a pair of
Nick Allan (Colonia, N.J./Colonia) three-pointers helped get the Pioneers within three at 38-35. Tom Paterno's basket later pushed the Profs back ahead by five (44-39, 9:46), but an Allen jumper and a
Joey Castro (West Paterson, N.J./Passaic Valley Regional) transition trey quickly knotted the score at 44-44 with 9:00 remaining.
Junior forward
Robert Whetham (North Haledon, N.J./Passaic Valley Regional) drove through the lane and converted an inbounds pass for a wrap-around layup, giving William Paterson its first lead of the second half at 46-44 with 7:59 left. An old-fashioned three-point play and an additional layup by junior guard
Paul Siljee (Wayne, N.J./Wayne Valley) stretched the margin to seven (51-44, 6:11), and after four quick points by the Profs, senior guard
Gabriel Paul (Newark, N.J./Hillside) drained a jumper in the paint plus the free throw, making it a two-possession game at 54-48 with 2:31 left. Rowan's Jason Rosenberg answered with a fast-break layup, but another bucket-plus-one from Paul kept William Paterson in control at 57-50 with 1:21 to play. Rowan made a pair of free throws and WP had a 1-for-2 trip to the line during the next 44 seconds before the two teams exchanged turnovers and the Profs missed a pair from beyond the arc and were forced to foul. William Paterson was unable to convert on either free throw with 10 seconds on the clock, and Gebhart drained a three-pointer from the left wing with 2.0 seconds left (58-55), but a long inbounds pass by the Pioneers ran the remaining time off the clock.
Paul finished with 23 points, including a 10-for-10 effort from the free-throw line, while Allan had 16 tallies. Siljee posted seven points and a team-best seven rebounds. The Pioneers bounced back to shoot 47.8 (11-23) percent during the second half and turned the ball over just 11 times in 40 minutes of play.
Gebhart paced the Profs with 20 points, adding nine rebounds, and Steve Secula contributed 14 tallies and 10 rebounds. Rowan was 9-for-28 (.321) from the floor after halftime, including a 1-for-7 (.143) effort from three-point range.
William Paterson will host Brooklyn Monday, Jan. 10, at 7:30 p.m. Rowan will play at Rutgers-Camden Wednesday, Jan. 12, at 8:00 p.m.
