PATCHOGUE, N.Y. – A 3-pointer by freshman
Jianni Moran (Fair Lawn, N.J./Fair Lawn) in the final minute of action made the difference as the William Paterson men's basketball team (5-6, 1-4 NJAC) held on to secure a 70-67 non-conference road victory over St. Joseph's Long Island (2-8, 1-0 Skyline) Dec. 30.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- With senior David Martinez (Maywood, N.J./Hackensack) leading the way with a 20-point performance in the first half, William Paterson carried an eight-point lead (36-28) into the break.
- The Pioneers continued to stay in rhythm offensively and opened the second half by outscoring the Golden Eagles, 19-11, over a six-minute stretch to extend the lead to 16 (55-39). During that span, WP shot 8-of-9 (.889) from the floor and 3-of-4 (.750) from deep.
- The Golden Eagles worked their way back into the game and erased the double-digit deficit before eventually evening the score at 67-67 with 54 seconds left to play.
- With 44 seconds on the clock, Moran buried a shot from long range and the Pioneers walked away with the 70-67 road victory.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS:
- Martinez posted his fourth 20-point outing of the season after scoring a career-high 27 points.
- Senior Shane Geene (Lafayette, N.J./Wallkill Valley Regional) finished with a career-best 14 points on 5-of-8 (.625) shooting while adding five rebounds.
- Moran had 10 points on 4-of-7 (.571) shooting.
- Senior Andre Wells (Matawan, N.J./Matawan) logged eight points and a game-high eight assists.
- Senior Neftali Valentin (Hackensack, N.J./Hackensack) finished with seven points, five assists, four rebounds and two steals.
UP NEXT:
- William Paterson will take on Brooklyn College Saturday, Jan. 4, at 1:00 p.m. in a non-conference road game.
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