CAMDEN, N.J. (Feb. 26, 2021) – The William Paterson University men's basketball team scored the first 15 points of the game here Friday night and went on to defeat Rutgers University-Camden, 56-45, in a New Jersey Athletic Conference contest.
Due to various COVID protocols and quarantines with opponents, the Pioneers (1-2 overall/1-2 in the NJAC) hadn't played since the opening weekend (Feb. 5 and 6) of the pandemic-shortened season.
The Rutgers-Camden men, meanwhile, are one of only two teams, along with Montclair State, to be on track to play every contest in the abbreviated eight-game season. The loss drops the Scarlet Raptors to 0-7 and 0-7 heading into the final regular-season game of the campaign, a 2 p.m. contest Saturday at William Paterson.
Led by six points from sophomore forward Yvens Monfleury and four from junior guard Cody Ripato, the Pioneers rushed to a 15-0 lead before the Scarlet Raptors finally scored on a foul shot by junior forward
Jake Petrik with 9:18 remaining in the half. The Raptors didn't hit their first field goal for another 1:40, when Petrik buried a trey.
By halftime, Paterson held a 35-11 lead, sparked by 15 points from junior guard Adryan Lopez.
Lopez finished with 17 points for the Pioneers, while Monfleury added 16 points and 10 rebounds for a double-double. Ripato added nine points for the Pioneers, who shot 23-for-59 (39.0 percent) from the floor and held a 39-33 advantage off the boards.
Sophomore guard/forward
Jaymes Savage scored a game- and career-high 19 points for the Scarlet Raptors, passing his previous Rutgers-Camden high of 11, set against The College of New Jersey Feb. 13. He also tied his Raptor high with four assists.
Freshman forward
Tristan Cornish netted eight points and added seven rebounds for Rutgers-Camden, tying his career scoring high and setting a new personal high off the boards. Freshman guard
Gavin Henry added seven points and eight boards.
Rutgers-Camden shot 17-for-49 (34.7) from the floor, including 3-for-23 (13.0) from three-point range.
