Video Highlights WAYNE, N.J. – Sophomore guard
Zach Frick's (Sparta, N.J./Sparta) 60-footer as time expired forced overtime, and William Paterson (15-2, 9-1 NJAC) was able to ride the resulting momentum to an 86-81 home victory against Ramapo (10-7, 4-6 NJAC) in New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) men's basketball action Jan. 21. Junior forward
Terik Bridgeman (Harlem, N.Y./Nia Prep) led all scorers with 29 points as the Pioneers registered their 10th straight victory.
WP saw its seven-point lead (68-61, 3:17) evaporate during the closing moments of regulation, as Ramapo's Thomas Bonacum hit a jumper and he and Christopher Moseley combined to go 4-for-4 at the free-throw line to pull the Roadrunners within one at 68-67 with 1:57 to play. After misses by both teams, Moseley converted a layup in the paint to hand Ramapo its first lead in nearly six minutes, 69-68 with 24.9 seconds left.
William Paterson had the ability to hold for the last shot, but Frick was whistled for travelling with 9.3 seconds on the clock and the Pioneers were forced to foul, allowing freshman Ve'Shawn Polite to make it a three-point game with his pair of attempts at the charity stripe (71-68, 7.7 seconds). Without a timeout available, WP had to force the inbounds pass up the right sideline, and it was stolen by Polite. Another quick foul put Ramapo's Josh Ford on the line with 2.9 seconds to play, and he missed the front end of the two-shot foul. His second attempt rolled around the rim and off the front, and Bridgeman alertly tipped it out to Frick, who took one dribble up the right sideline and launched a 60-footer from the edge of the Ramapo bench just before the buzzer sounded. The high-arcing shot rattled in and dropped through the net, tying the score at 71-71 and giving the Pioneers new life.
William Paterson didn't squander the opportunity, as senior guard
Sandy Burgos (Fort Lee, N.J./Fort Lee) started the extra session with a trey from the left wing and Frick followed with a three-ball from the corner, pushing the Pioneers ahead by a 77-71 count at the 3:51 mark. The Roadrunners three times made it a two-point game during the next 90 seconds, but each time WP had an answer, finally finishing off the win by scoring their final five points from the free-throw line for the five-point win. During the overtime period, the Pioneers were 4-for-8 (.500) from the field, including 2-for-3 (.667) from three-point range, and Ramapo was just 2-for-9 (.222) overall.
Bridgeman added 10 rebounds, three steals and three blocked shots to his 29 tallies, shooting 76.5 (13-17) percent from the floor. Junior guard
Bright Mensah (Hackensack, N.J./Hackensack) had 14 points, eight rebounds and three assists, and Burgos posted 11 tallies. Frick scored all seven of his points after halftime.
Six lead changes and nine ties resulted in a 38-31 Ramapo lead after the first 20 minutes of action, but William Paterson later went ahead by a 48-46 count 7:31 into the second half thanks to a three-point play by sophomore guard
Galen Smith (Piscataway, N.J./Piscataway Tech). But the Pioneers couldn't expand it to more than three during the next four minutes, and when Ramapo's Jermaine Peart scored on a layup at the 9:35 mark, it gave the Roadrunners a 54-53 edge. Four lead changes and three ties marked the next five minutes until William Paterson went on an 8-1 run to pull ahead, 68-61, with 3:17 left in the second.
Polite paced Ramapo with 18 points, junior forward Frank Nock contributed 12 tallies and Bonacum posted 10 points and a game-best 11 rebounds.
William Paterson will play at Rutgers-Camden Saturday, Jan. 24, at 2:00 p.m.
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http://www.wpupioneers.com and
http://www.wpupioneers.com/socialmedia.