WAYNE, N.J. – The William Paterson men's basketball team (4-4, 0-3 NJAC) was defeated in overtime, 83-76, by Stockton in a New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) game Dec. 6 at the Sports and Recreation Center.     

HOW IT HAPPENED:

• After outscoring Stockton 9-1 to close out the first half and beginning the new stanza on a 7-2 run, the Pioneers grabbed a double-digit lead (39-28) with 17:35 on the clock.
• The Ospreys responded with a 12-5 run to trim the deficit to four (44-40) with 14:12 remaining.
• The two sides continued trading baskets for most of the half and the Pioneers found themselves trailing by two (69-67) with 35 seconds left to play.
• Freshman Nahsir Merrick (Bronx, N.Y./Stephenson) found junior Fred Orock Jr. (Williamstown, N.J./Williamstown) for a dunk with 16 seconds on the clock to even the score at 69-69 and ultimately force overtime.
• Despite the Pioneers holding a 73-71 edge in the overtime period, the Ospreys went on a 12-3 run to secure the 83-76 road win.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS:

• Sophomore Jack Gobel (Weehawken, N.J./Weehawken) shot 9-of-18 (.500) from the field and 5-of-10 (.500) from deep for a career-high 25 points.
• Orock Jr. recorded a career-best 17 points on 7-of-11 (.636) shooting with eight rebounds and a pair of steals.
• Freshman Ty'Shawn Pearson (Westfield, N.J./Westfield) went 7-of-14 (.500) from the floor for a season-high 15 points to go with a career-high seven assists and five steals.
• Sophomore Delani Hyde (Toms River, N.J./Toms River North) reeled in seven boards and tallied three blocks.
• Merrick finished with five rebounds, three assists and a season-best three blocks.

UP NEXT:

• William Paterson will face off against Rutgers-Newark Wednesday, Dec. 10, in an 8:00 p.m. road conference game.   

 
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