HACKETTSTOWN, N.J. – The William Paterson men's basketball team (2-3) suffered a 78-72 overtime loss at Centenary (3-2) Nov. 26. Senior guard Turell McClendon (Newark, N.J./Piscataway Tech) notched his second career double-double with a team-high 16 points and a game-best 13 rebounds.
 
A three-pointer by senior guard Galen Smith (Piscataway, N.J./Piscataway Tech) handed WP its largest lead of the game at 30-26 with 5:24 remaining in the first half, and a trey by  senior guard Zach Frick (Sparta, N.J./Sparta) with six seconds on the clock made it a 37-35 Pioneer advantage at the break.
 
The back-and-forth play continued during the second period, as a total of 17 lead changes and 11 ties marked the contest overall. The Cyclones owned a 63-59 edge with 5:18 on the clock, but a Dapo Badmos (Toronto, Canada/The Kiski School) three-pointer and layups by senior guard Joseph Taylor (Camden, N.J./Woodrow Wilson) and McClendon pushed William Paterson ahead by a 66-63 count with 3:21 left. A Centenary jumper was followed by a 1-for-2 trip to the free-throw line by senior forward David Mofunanya (Englewood, N.J./Dwight Morrow), but Cyclone Rashaan Spencer hit two free throws to knot the score at 67-67 with 1:23 remaining. WP twice turned the ball over during the final 61 seconds, but Badmos kept it a tie score when he blocked a Centenary shot during the final two seconds.
 
The Cyclones never trailed during the extra session, shooting 50.0 (4-8) percent from the floor.
 
Taylor posted 13 points, six rebounds and three assists for WP, while Smith had 13 tallies and Badmos finished with 10 points.
 
Spencer led Centenary with 22 points. Senior forward Paul Jones added 19 tallies and 10 rebounds.
 
William Paterson will host New Jersey City Wednesday, Nov. 30, at 8:00 p.m.
 
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