WESTFIELD, MASS.- The William Paterson men's basketball team (2-0) secured an 82-70 win against Castleton (2-2) Nov.12, in the opening round of the Rick Martin/Hampton Inn tTournament, Nov. 12.

HOW IT HAPPENED: 

• A back-and-forth first half ended with the Pioneers holding a 39-30 lead.
• Castleton fought back quickly to start the second half, shrinking the Pioneers advantage to just one at 45-44 with 13 minutes left to play.
• An 8-0 run in the final three minutes of the game gave WP a comfortable 79-67 lead with under two minutes to play.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS:

• Senior guard Adryan Lopez (Garfield, N.J./Lyndhurst) led the Pioneers with a career-high 18 points and six rebounds, while shooting 66% (6-9) from the field.
• Graduate student guard Domenic Mignone (Rutherford, N.J./Rutherford) recorded 17 points, six rebounds and five assists.
• Senior guard Nick Rodriguez (Redding, Calif./Shasta), junior guard Jadon Cepeda (West New York, N.J./Memorial) and graduate student Brian Monaghan (Florham Park, N.J./Morristown-Beard) each scored in double figures.
• The Pioneers shot 43% from the field.

UP NEXT:

• WP will face Westfield State in the final of the Rick Martin/Hampton Inn Tournament on Saturday, Nov. 13, at 2:00 p.m.

FOLLOW THE PIONEERS:

• www.wpupioneers.com/socialmedia