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WAYNE, N.J. – Senior Richy Espinal (Ridgefield Park, N.J./Ridgefield Park) started the 2017-18 season with a bang, dropping 25 points and adding 15 rebounds to help the William Paterson men's basketball team (1-0) roll past Brooklyn College (0-1), 67-47, inside the WP Recreation Center Wednesday, Nov. 15.
 
The 15 rebounds for Espinal is a new career best, surpassing his previous high of 14 against Kean last season. The 25-point outburst was nearly a new career high as well, coming up one point short of his 26-point outing against Rowan as a sophomore.
 
Senior Dapo Badmos (Toronto, Canada/The Kiski School) also had a big game for WP, pouring in 13 points while hauling in five boards and dishing out three assists. Classmate George Sapp (Sicklerville, N.J./Timber Creek) handed out a game-high four assists in the win while also grabbing eight rebounds, and junior Saint Simeon Beaubrun (Irvington, N.J./Columbia) pulled down seven boards in his debut for the Orange and Black.
 
It was all WP from the opening tip , starting the game on a 21-5 run behind six points apiece from Espinal and Badmos in the opening eight minutes. The Pioneers led by as many as 22 in the first half, but the Bulldogs chipped away, making it a 37-22 game at the intermission before extending an eventual 12-0 run into the second stanza. The run forced a Pioneer timeout with the score 37-27 at the 18:20 mark of the second half.
 
The Pioneers responded immediately out of the timeout however, rattling off nine unanswered points over a four-minute span behind three buckets in the paint for Espinal. WP pushed the lead as high as 23 points twice in the half, eventually coming away with the 20-point victory to start the campaign.
 
The Pioneers return to action Friday, Nov. 17, when they travel to Purchase, N.Y., to take on Manhattanville College in the opening round of the AJ Buchanan Classic at 8:00 p.m.
 
For all of the latest information on the Pioneers, visit http://www.wpupioneers.com and http://www.wpupioneers.com/socialmedia.