Box Score

WAYNE, NJ – Rutgers-Newark fell to William Paterson, 69-67, in a nip and tuck battle which came down to the final bucket in the New Jersey Athletic Conference North Division battle in the WPU Rec Center.

Scarlet Raider guards Al'Don Muhammad, Pedro Burgos and Greg Moore combined for 50 points, but the league-leading Pioneers (12-2, NJAC 4-1) got game highs of 28 point, 11 rebounds and seven assists from junior guard Corey Chandler plus 25 points and seven rebounds from junior forward Lance Brown.  The Raiders (9-6, NJAC 2-2) fell in Wayne for the eighth straight time.

There were six lead changes and three ties during the final 8:41 of the game with a 3-point jumper by junior guard Rick DeStefano being the difference maker with 1:18 left.  Burgos and Moore missed jumpers in the final minute as the Pioneers held on for the win.

Burgos, who finished with 19 points, hit a jumper to stake R-N to a 55-48 lead with 11:56 left. But, Brown had seven points and Chandler, five, to account for all of Pioneer points in a 12-2 which gave the home team a 60-57 edge and set up the see-saw final minutes.

Muhammad tallied team highs of 21 points and six assists to go along with nine rebounds and a pair of steals while Moore notched 10 points.  Burgos, Muhammad and Moore combined to make nine of 24 shots from beyond the arc.

Senior forward Jeremiah Rivers and Muhammad each went six for six from the foul line as the Raiders made 18 of 20 free throws while the Pioneers did not make a charity toss in four tries.

Freshman forward Christian Garcia netted six points with two steals for the Raiders while junior center Hussein Abdelmaksoud pulled down a team-high 10 rebounds while adding three points.

Moore hit a jump shot with 1:32 left to give the Raiders their final lead at 67-66.

Rutgers-Newark hosts Rowan in an NJAC doubleheader in The Golden Dome on Saturday.  The women tip off at 6 p.m. with the men to follow at 8 o'clock.