Men's Basketball

  William Paterson Defeats Kean in Men's Hoops, 56-42

UNION, N.J. (12/08/07) - William Paterson University junior guard Jordan Fowler (Montclair, N.J.) scored a game-high 20 points in just 13 minutes off the bench to lead the Pioneers past host Kean University, 56-42, in New Jersey Athletic Conference men's basketball action on Saturday afternoon. 

For the Cougars (1-4, 0-1 NJAC), a pair of freshmen scored 10 points apiece, as guards Keith Williams (Jersey City, N.J.) and Derrick McCord (Jersey City, N.J.) also combined for three steals and five rebounds in the loss, as Kean played its first game without NJAC leading scorer Lamar Wright (Galloway, N.J.), who is injured.   

The Cougars led for much of the first half, extending their lead to as many as five points on a pair of occasions, as five of the team's six field goals were from beyond the arc.  William Paterson (6-1, 1-0 NJAC) took their only lead of the half on a free throw by senior guard Joey Spiegel (Teaneck, N.J.) with just four seconds left for the 20-19 lead at halftime. 

The Pioneers hit just 18.5 percent of their shots from the floor (5-of-27), but had eight free throws (8-of-14) to just two from the foul line for Kean (2-of-4) in the opening half. 

In the second half, Kean regained the lead and led by as many as three points on a layup by McCord just 4:32 into the half.  A pair of free throws by Fowler tied the game at 27-27 and Fowler followed with a three-pointer on the Pioneers' next possession to give WPU the lead for good. 

William Paterson built a seven-point lead on a layup by Spiegel with less than 10 minutes remaining before the Cougars trimmed the deficit back down to two points at 40-38 with 6:46 left on a three-pointer by rookie Farod Robinson (Jersey City, N.J.).  Kean managed just four points the rest of the game, as the Pioneers closed the game on a 16-4 run for the 14-point victory.

McCord scored all 10 of his points in the second half, while freshman Akinwande Oshodi (Florence, N.J.) had five points and a game-high nine rebounds. 

For the Pioneers, Fowler scored all but one of his points in the second half, hitting 7-of-8 from the floor and 5-of-6 from the line for the game.  Senior guard Jason Cameron (Cliffside Park, N.J.) added nine points and five rebounds, while Spiegel finished with eight points and three steals.

Kean returns to action on Saturday, December 15, when they host Gwynedd-Mercy College in non-conference action at 1 p.m.