NEWARK, NJ – Senior guard James Johnson poured in a game-high 25 points as Rutgers-Newark toppled No. 10 William Paterson, 55-46, in a New Jersey Athletic Conference game in The Golden Dome.

Rutgers-Newark 55, William Paterson 46

With Johnson scoring over 20 points for the third straight night, the Scarlet Raiders (18-6, NJAC 8-4) locked up a home game in the opening round of the NJAC Championship Tournament's first round this Saturday. The Raiders, who are the No. 2 seed in the NJAC North Division, will host Kean, the No. 3 seed from the South at 7 p.m.

Senior point guard Tim Smith added 10 points, seven rebounds and two steals for the Raiders while high-scoring senior forward Deshawn Singleton dished out a team-high four assists while being limited to just two points and two rebounds. Singleton turned in yeoman's work on defense.

It was Senior Night for Johnson, Singleton, Smith, forwards Ryan Gillens and Phil Barnes, and guard De'Vion Manning, and the six each played a key role in the tight defensive battle. Gillens had four points and three rebounds while Barnes hauled down seven rebounds and blocked two shots. Manning nailed a key 3-pointer in the second half. 

Johnson had 14 points as the Raiders clawed out a 27-23 halftime lead.

WPU took its only lead of the second half on a layup by senior guard Eric Moore at 39-38 with 9:31 remaining.  But Johnson dropped in a pair of treys around layup by freshman guard Al-Don Muhammad to push the lead back to seven with 7:21 left.

The Pioneers got no closer than four points down the stretch.  But after a jumper by senior guard Bobby Dunn make it 50-46 with 4:26 left, the Rutgers-Newark defense smothered WPU.  The Pioneers did not score a point the rest of the way.

The Pioneers (22-1, NJAC 11-1) got a dozen points from Moore, and 11 points, nine rebounds and four blocked shots from senior center Abdoulaye Ouedraogo. WPU had already locked up the North Division's top seed.

Senior guard Tim Lucas had eight points, five rebounds, a game-high five assists and two steals for the Pioneers who saw their 20-game winning streak snapped.

Rutgers-Newark is at Ramapo on Wednesday for the regular-season ending NJAC doubleheader. The women tip off at 5:30 p.m. while the men begin play at 7:30 in the Bradley Center.