Feb 15, 2025
CAMDEN, N.J. – The William Paterson men's basketball team (6-17, 2-14 NJAC) was edged, 86-84, in a down-to-the-wire New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) road game against Rutgers-Camden (8-14, 3-13 NJAC) Feb. 15.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- The Pioneers trailed by three (20-17) with 11:55 on the clock in the opening half until the Scarlet Raptors went on a 31-15 run to take a 19-point lead (51-32) into the break.
- William Paterson outscored Rutgers-Camden, 33-20, over the first 14:17 of the second half to pull within single digits (71-65). During that span, the Pioneers utilized their ability to get to the charity stripe, knocking down 16 foul shots.
- A layup by senior Andre Wells with 56 seconds remaining made it a one-point game (84-83), but the Scarlet Raptors countered with a bucket of their own.
- The Pioneers had an opportunity to even the score with one second left to play, but both foul shots were missed and Rutgers-Camden escaped with the 86-84 win.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS:
- Senior Neftali Valentin scored 11 points and became the 33rd Pioneer in program history to reach 1,000 career points.
- Wells shot 7-for-12 (.583) from the floor and 20-for-26 (.769) from the foul line for a career-high 34 points. He added eight boards, a team-high five assists and three steals to his stat line.
- Senior Tim Gjonballa finished with 12 points and eight rebounds.
- Senior David Martinez posted a 10-point performance.
UP NEXT:
- William Paterson returns to the Sports and Recreation Center Wednesday, Feb. 19, to host Ramapo at 7:30 p.m. in a conference game on senior day.
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