WAYNE, N.J. (Feb. 11, 2023) – When the Rutgers University-Camden men's basketball team defeated William Paterson University in Camden on Jan. 14, the Scarlet Raptors used 12 three-pointers to take a commanding 33-point halftime lead on their way to an easy win.
 
The Raptors appeared poised to sweep the season series here Saturday, but a big comeback, a stunning three-pointer to tie the game at the regulation buzzer and a pair of wild overtime periods helped Paterson pull out a 99-94 victory in a New Jersey Athletic Conference game.
 
Paterson improved to 10-14 overall, snapping a six-game losing streak, and 4-13 in the NJAC. Rutgers-Camden fell to 4-20 overall and 2-15 in conference play.
 
Rutgers-Camden built a 13-point lead (40-27) on its way to a 45-37 halftime lead. Paterson, however, inched back into the game in the second half, aided by a seven-point run that cut the Scarlet Raptors' lead to 63-61. The Pioneers closed their deficit to one point three times in the last three minutes and finally tied the game at 76-76 on a foul shot by junior guard Shawn Summers Jr. with 39 seconds remaining in regulation.
 
Freshman forward Cameron Downs made three of four foul shots over the next 37 seconds to give the Scarlet Raptors a 79-76 lead with two seconds remaining. Paterson, however, came out of a timeout and sophomore forward/guard Neftali Valentin nailed a three-pointer at the buzzer, tying the game and sending it into overtime.
 
In the first overtime, Rutgers-Camden took an 85-83 lead down the stretch before a turnover led to a game-tying jumper by Summers with 39 seconds remaining. Another Raptor turnover gave Paterson a chance to win at the buzzer, but the Pioneers missed a three-point attempt to send the game to a second overtime.
 
William Paterson scored the first six points in the second overtime – including four by Summers – before Rutgers-Camden rallied to within one point, down 93-92. Valentin put the game out of reach with a trey and added a foul shot 13 seconds later, making it a 97-92 Pioneer lead with 32 seconds remaining. After a layup by Raptor sophomore guard Jordan Trusty-Smith cut the gap to 97-94 with 18 seconds remaining, Summers closed out the scoring with a pair of foul shots.
 
Summers notched a double-double of 25 points and 11 rebounds for Paterson, while Valentin scored 18 points, senior guard Adryan Lopez netted 17, junior guard Tyreek Montgomery canned 14 and junior forward Caesar Silvestro added 12.
 
Downs collected his fourth career double-double for the Raptors, scoring 26 points and adding a career-high 15 rebounds, while also notching five assists. Junior guard Ethan Tarte scored 15 points and collected a career-high six assists, while senior guard Jaymes Savage and Trusty-Smith both notched 14 points and sophomore guard Kobe Devine added 10. Savage completed a double-double with a career-high 15 rebounds.
 
Sophomore forward Jordany Pierre grabbed 10 rebounds, while Trusty-Smith had a career-high nine boards.
 
William Paterson shot 38-for-86 (44.2 percent) from the floor, including only 2-for-20 (10.0) from three-point range. They were 21-for-39 (53.8) from the foul line. Rutgers-Camden shot 35-for-80 (43.8) from the floor, 18-for-30 (60.0) from the foul line and held a 63-47 advantage off the boards. The Scarlet Raptors also had 29 turnovers to the Pioneers' 17.
 
The Scarlet Raptors close their season Wednesday with an 8 p.m. NJAC game at New Jersey City University.