Video Highlights WAYNE, N.J. – William Paterson (3-0) made its free throws down the stretch, holding off Lehman (1-2) for a 73-71 victory in the Pioneers' men's basketball home opener Nov. 18.
WP trailed by as many as nine (49-40, 16:32) during the second half, but nine straight points leveled the score at 49-49 with 13:02 to play. A later 8-0 burst, capped by a
Joseph Taylor (Camden, N.J./Woodrow Wilson) three-pointer, made it a 61-55 Pioneer advantage with 7:06 on the clock.
The Lightning answered by scoring the next 10 points, surging ahead by a 65-61 count with 2:41 left. Junior guard
Zach Frick (Sparta, N.J./Sparta) drained a trey eight seconds later, and Taylor's third-chance putback nudged William Paterson ahead, 66-65 with 1:21 remaining. The two teams traded misses from the charity stripe, and a Lehman miss from behind the arc was rebounded by the Pioneers. Frick made two free throws (68-65, 0:39), and after a Lightning miss of the front end of a one-and-one, senior guard
Bright Mensah (Hackensack, N.J./Hackensack) went 2-for-2 from the stripe (70-65, 0:31). WP rebounded another Lehman miss and Mensah made the first of two free throws, stretching the lead to 71-65 with 17 seconds to play. Senior forward Chaun Miller knocked down a three (71-68, 0:12) to make it a one-possession game, but Frick again sank two free throws three seconds later, and Lehman's Olando Minott finished the scoring with a three-pointer with five seconds left.
Frick led the Pioneers with 15 points, and senior guard
Terik Bridgeman (Harlem, N.Y./Nia Prep) had 14 tallies and seven rebounds. Taylor contributed 13 points and eight boards, senior forward
James McLane (Belleville, N.J./Queen of Peace) collected 13 tallies and nine rebounds, and Mensah finished with 13 points, seven boards and six assists.
A pair of Taylor three-pointers allowed the Pioneers to put together a mini 8-2 run and seize a 28-21 lead with 6:57 remaining in the first half. But, the Lightning scored nine of the next 10 points, the last an Astrit Krasniqi layup, to push Lehman ahead by a 30-29 count. Five lead changes and a three ties marked the final 4:20 of the period, and Lehman carried a 39-36 edge into the locker room. The Lightning scored 10 of the first 14 points to push ahead by a 49-40 count less than four minutes into the second half.
Minott paced Lehman with 15 points, tying for the team rebounding with freshman center Niv Solomon with nine apiece.
The Pioneers shot just 20.6 (7-34) percent from beyond the arc, but committed only 15 turnovers and made 20 of 28 (.714) free throws.
William Paterson will visit Brooklyn Saturday, Nov. 21, at 1:00 p.m.
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