HACKETTSTOWN, N.J. – The William Paterson men's basketball team (5-7, 1-5 NJAC) opened the Cyclone Holiday Classic with a 69-67 victory over Penn State Abington (4-7, 0-1 United East) Dec. 29.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED:

• With 10:39 on the clock in the opening half, the Nittany Lions went on a 13-4 run that lasted nearly four minutes to build a double-digit advantage (24-13).
• A 3-pointer by junior David Martinez (Maywood, N.J./Hackensack) sparked an 8-2 run to pull the Pioneers within four (30-26) at the 2:53 mark. However, the Nittany Lions outscored William Paterson, 6-2, in the closing minutes to take an eight-point lead (36-28) into the half.
• The Pioneers came out hot in the second stanza and a three-point make by graduate student MJ Moncrieffe (Maplewood, N.J./Marist) with 18:13 left to play was the start of a 10-0 run that gave William Paterson its first lead (38-36) of the afternoon. During that stretch, the Pioneers went 4-for-5 (.800) from the field and forced three turnovers.
• The two sides began to trade baskets until the 11:20 mark when William Paterson went on a 14-2 run that lasted until the 8:20 mark to put the Pioneers ahead, 60-51. Penn State Abington countered with an 11-3 run to pull within one (63-62) with 3:45 remaining.
• Back-to-back scores by junior Andre Wells (Matawan, N.J./Matawan) and Moncrieffe gave the Pioneers a five-point edge (69-64) with 1:54 left to play.
• The Nittany Lions buried a 3-pointer with 1:36 on the clock to pull within two (69-67) and had several opportunities to even the score, but came up short and William Paterson secured the victory.

 
INSIDE THE NUMBERS:

• The Pioneers extended their win streak to a season-best three games.
• Wells finished with a game-high 20 points on 8-of-15 (.533) shooting while tying his career-best rebounding total with seven boards.
• It marks the second consecutive outing with 20 or more points for the Matawan, N.J., native.
• Moncrieffe had 12 points and a team-best eight rebounds to go with three steals and a pair of assists.
• Senior Shawn Summers Jr. (Montclair, N.J./Montclair) logged 12 points, six boards and two assists.
• Junior Neftali Valentin (Hackensack, N.J./Hackensack) totaled 12 points and four steals with two assists.

 
UP NEXT:

• William Paterson will remain in Hackettstown, N.J., to face off against the winner of the game between McDaniel and host Centenary, Saturday, Dec. 30, at 3:00 p.m.

 
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