Box Score

NEWARK, N.J. – Senior Gabriel Paul (Newark, N.J./Hillside) became the 27th member of the Pioneers' 1,000-point club, but the William Paterson men's basketball team (12-10, 4-6 NJAC) lost to host Rutgers-Newark (16-6, 6-5 NJAC), 56-48, on Feb. 5.

Paul finished with 16 points, the exact total he needed to reach the 1,000-point plateau, including his last two coming from a pair of free throws with 4:04 to play. Paul added a team-best nine rebounds, sophomore Rick DeStefano (Marlboro, N.J./Marlboro) had 11 points in 25 minutes off the bench, and junior Joey Castro (West Paterson, N.J./Passaic Valley Regional) added seven tallies and four boards.

The Scarlet Raiders led by as many as 13 during the first half, and owned a 31-24 halftime advantage. Castro started the second half with two successful attempts from the charity stripe, one of four different Pioneers to score during a 14-2 run that gave William Paterson a 38-33 lead with 12:59 to play. However, 13 unanswered points by Rutgers-Newark over a 7:26 span put the Raiders on top by a 48-40 count (4:42), and when William Paterson made it a five-point game with 1:00 left (52-47), Rutgers-Newark went 4-for-6 at the stripe down the stretch to deny a Pioneer comeback.

Hussein Abdelmaksoud had a double-double for the Raiders with 14 points and 16 rebounds. Pedro Burgos scored 15 points, and Al'Don Muhammad contributed 10 points and seven assists.

The Pioneers will celebrate Take a Kid to the Game Day when they host New Jersey City Wednesday, Feb. 9, at 8:00 p.m.