WAYNE, N.J. (January 7, 2017) – William Paterson University topped Rutgers University-Newark by a score of 54-42 Saturday afternoon in a New Jersey Athletic Conference men's basketball game.
Rutgers-Newark drops to 3-4 in the league and 4-9 overall, while Paterson moves to 6-8 overall and 2-5 in the NJAC. Rutgers-Newark will look to get back to .500 in conference play Wednesday night when the Scarlet Raiders host league foe The College of New Jersey in The Golden Dome.
R-N scored five of the first seven points in the game, getting a three-pointer from freshman forward
Landon Gaines, but a layup from Turell McClendon gave the Pioneers a 14-11 margin with seven minutes left in the first half.
Another Gaines triple with a shade under four minutes left in the period pushed Newark back in front, but William Paterson would take a 23-20 lead into the halftime break.
Just 2:55 into the second half, a three-pointer from freshman guard
Mike Vick propelled Rutgers-Newark back in front (27-25), and a jumper from freshman guard
Chase Barneys made it 31-27 in favor of the guests.
From that point, William Paterson was able to take control, holding Rutgers-Newark to just 11 points in the final 15 minutes of the game.
Rutgers-Newark shot 32 percent from the field, 4-for-11 from distance and 6-for-11 at the line, holding a 40-29 margin on the glass and scoring 22 points in the paint. William Paterson shot 36.5 percent from the field, 2-for-19 from deep and 14-for-19 at the line, forcing 21 Raider turnovers and scoring 28 points in the paint.
Vick led the Scarlet Raiders with 10 points, three boards, two blocks and a steal, with Gaines getting eight points, one steal and one rebound. Barneys had six points, seven rebounds and two assists, and junior forward
Jared Pearson had four points and four boards.
Rutgers-Newark was whistled for 21 fouls in the game and William Paterson was whistled for 10.
Wednesday night's tip-off from The Golden Dome is slate for 8 p.m. and all the action can be seen live at
www.rutgersnewarkathletics.com/watch.
