GLASSBORO, N.J. – The William Paterson men's basketball team (13-12, 8-10 NJAC) never trailed at Rowan (9-16, 6-12 NJAC), pulling away for an 85-65 victory Feb. 17 in the regular-season finale for both teams.
 
The sixth-seeded Pioneers will play at third-seeded Rutgers-Newark in the New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) Tournament first round Saturday, Feb. 20, at 7:00 p.m.
 
Senior guard Terik Bridgeman (Harlem, N.Y./Nia Prep) led the Pioneers with 21 points while tying his career best with 17 rebounds. Senior guard Bright Mensah (Hackensack, N.J./Hackensack) had 20 tallies, seven boards and five assists, senior guard Manny Hernandez (Paterson, N.J./Paramus Catholic) notched 14 points and junior forward Richy Espinal (Ridgefield Park, N.J./Ridgefield Park) finished with 12 tallies and nine rebounds.
 
WP shot better from beyond the arc (.474, 9-19) than from inside it (.267, 4-15) during the first half, leading by as many as 13 (28-15, 8:42) before carrying a 39-31 advantage into the locker room. The Pioneers quickly stretched a 43-35 edge less than 90 seconds into the second period into a 20-point margin (68-48, 10:10) behind 11 tallies from Bridgeman and eight from Hernandez.
 
William Paterson finished 13-for-31 (.419) from three-point range and 16-for-19 (.842) from the free-throw line.
 
Senior guard Kris O'Connor paced the Profs with 21 points and seven rebounds. Junior forward Gary Carthan added 12 tallies.
 
For all of the latest information on the Pioneers, visit http://www.wpupioneers.com and http://www.wpupioneers.com/socialmedia.