EWING, N.J. – The College of New Jersey (14-10, 10-7 NJAC) pulled away from No. 22 William Paterson (19-5, 13-4 NJAC) late, earning an 80-70 victory Feb. 14 in New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) men's basketball action.
 
The Pioneers are tied with No. 19 Richard Stockton (13-4 NJAC) for first place in the NJAC standings with one game remaining. If WP defeats Rowan and Stockton loses to Montclair State Feb. 18, the Pioneers will be the first seed and the Ospreys will be second. Any other combination of wins and losses will make Stockton the first seed and William Paterson the second seed. The top two teams receive a first-round bye and a home semifinal game Tuesday, Feb. 24.
 
Playing its fourth game in eight days, William Paterson looked to be up to the challenge, surging out to a 21-4 lead less than seven minutes into the contest, including 11 tallies off the hot hand of senior guard Sandy Burgos (Fort Lee, N.J./Fort Lee). But, the Lions all but erased that advantage during the next seven minutes, getting to within two at 25-23 at the 6:31 mark, and a later 8-4 burst allowed TCNJ to carry a slim 38-37 edge into the locker room.
 
The College of New Jersey led by as many as 10 (68-58, 4:22) before two Jaques Conceicao (Massama-Lisboa, Portugal/Francais Charle Lepierre) free throws, a Burgos layup and a Terik Bridgeman (Harlem, N.Y./Nia Prep) dunk made it a two-possession game at 68-64 with 2:59 to play. The Lions converted a layup (70-64, 2:25), then the two teams exchanged three-pointers, followed by a Bridgeman three-point play for a 73-70 margin with 76 seconds remaining. TCNJ put down a layup, and after a Pioneer miss, the Lions made two free throws and then scored on a dunk to put the game out of reach during the closing moments.
 
Burgos led WP with 23 points, Bridgeman collected 21 tallies and 12 rebounds, and Conceicao finished with 13 points.
 
Senior guard Jayson Johnson had 25 points for TCNJ. Junior forward Bobby Brackett added 17 tallies and 11 rebounds.
 
William Paterson will celebrate Senior Night Wednesday, Feb. 18, at home against Rowan at 8:00 p.m.
 
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