WAYNE, N.J. – Senior forward
Sean Smith (Moraga, Calif./Campolindo) became the 31st member of the Pioneers' 1,000-point club as the William Paterson men's basketball (7-7, 3-4 NJAC) snapped its three-game slide with an impressive 87-65 New Jersey Athletic Conference home win over Kean (4-10, 1-6 NJAC) Jan. 11.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- With the Pioneers holding a slim 16-14 advantage with just under 12 minutes left in the opening stanza, a fastbreak jumper from senior guard Anthony Uribe (Hackensack, N.J./Bergen Catholic) sparked 21-5 run that saw WP open an 18-point cushion (37-19, 4:06). William Paterson would stretch its lead to 19, 41-22, before settling on a 41-25 halftime edge.
- WP continued its offensive momentum after intermission as the Pioneers shot 17-for-34 (.500), including 10-of-12 (.833) from beyond-the-arc in the second stanza to run away from the Cougars and secure the conference win.
- With 2:59 left in the game, freshman guard Jadon Cepeda's (West New York, N.J./Memorial) pass found a wide-open Smith, who knocked down his 11th three-pointer of the contest to become the 31st member of WP's 1,000-point club.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS:
- Smith led all scorers with 35 point, and shot 11-of-16 (.688) from distance to break his own single-game record for three-pointers (10, 12/4/19 at New Jersey City).
- Junior guard Domenic Mignone (Rutherford, N.J./Rutherford) finished with 15 points, five rebounds and dished out a career-best eight assists, while classmate Nasir Fields (Winslow Twp., N.J./Winslow Twp.) contributed 10 points and pulled down eight boards.
- Juniors Malcolm McLeod (Teaneck, N.J./Eastern Christian) and Justin Lingat (Toms River, N.J./Toms River East) added 11 and seven points, respectively.
- WP shot an even 50.0 percent (33-66) from the field, including a season-best 63.0 percent (17-27) from downtown, while limiting Kean to just 31.7 percent overall (20-63) for the contest.
UP NEXT:
- William Paterson visits The College of New Jersey Wednesday, Jan. 15, at 3:00 p.m.
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