Box Score

CAMDEN, N.J. (Dec. 19, 2015) – Senior guard Bright Mensah (Hackensack, NJ/Hackensack) scored 17 of his game-high 25 points in the first half and finished with a double-double including a team-high 11 rebounds to lead the William Paterson University men's basketball team over Rutgers University-Camden, 73-57, in a New Jersey Athletic Conference game here Saturday afternoon.
 
William Paterson, which received 11 votes toward this week's D3hoops.com Top 25 poll, improves to 7-4 overall and 2-3 in the NJAC, while Rutgers-Camden falls to 2-7 and 1-4.   
 
Game photos, courtesy of Joe Gillespie

Paterson has won eight straight games and 20 of its last 21 against Rutgers-Camden. The Pioneers hold a 55-6 lead in the all-time series.
 
Paterson scored the first seven points of the game – the first five by junior guard Zach Frick (Sparta, NJ/Sparta) and the last two by Mensah – and never trailed in the game. The closest the Scarlet Raptors came after that was 8-5, as the Pioneers established a 35-26 advantage at the break. Twenty-seven of those points came from the duo of Mensah (17) and Frick (10).
 
Rutgers-Camden cut the gap to 39-32 early in the second half, but Paterson opened up leads as large as 21 points, twice, in the final 20 minutes, with the last time coming at 70-49.
 
In addition to his double-double, Mensah tied for his team high with four assists and added three steals. Frick finished with 12 points and three assists, while senior guard Manny Hernandez (Paterson, NJ/Paramus Catholic) added 10 points.
 
Freshman forward Richy Espinal (Ridgefield Park, NJ/Ridgefield Park) chipped in with nine points for the Pioneers, who shot 27-for-59 (45.8 percent) from the field, including 11-for-28 (39.3) from three-point range. Mensah shot 5-for-9 from beyond the arc and 10-for-16 overall.
 
Rutgers-Camden received 11 points apiece from junior forward Noah McFarlane (Camden, NJ/Camden Catholic), establishing his Raptor career high. He also tied his Raptor career high of seven rebounds.

Junior guard Davis Graham (Cinnaminson, NJ/Doane Academy) also scored 11 for the Raptors, while sophomore forward Abby Bah (Haddonfield, NJ/Haddonfield Memorial) collected a game-high 14 rebounds and barely missed a double-double, finishing with nine points.
 
Freshman guard Elijah Robles (Clifton, NJ/Clifton) dished out a game-high five assists to tie his career high.
 
Rutgers-Camden shot 20-for-53 (37.7) from the field and held a 34-25 advantage off the boards. The Raptors also had 22 turnovers, twice as many as the Pioneers.
 
Rutgers-Camden returns to action on Dec. 30 with a non-conference 7 p.m. game at Neumann University.
 
William Paterson travels to Kean University Jan. 6 for an 8 p.m. NJAC game.