Box Score

Wayne, NJ … An explosive second half by William Paterson University handed The College of New Jersey men's basketball team an 83-56 defeat on Wednesday night in Wayne, NJ.

The Lions dropped to 7-10 overall and 5-5 in the New Jersey Athletic Conference standings. The Pioneers improved to 14-3 and remain in first place in the NJAC at 8-2.

Junior Alex Fox (Washington, NJ/Westwood) scored a season-high 20 points for TCNJ on 6-of-7 shooting. Sophomore Bobby Brackett (Lawrence, NJ/Lawrence) garnered his 14^th double double of the season with 13 points and 12 rebounds. Junior Jayson Johnson (Bordentown, NJ/Life Center Academy) finished with 11 points and three assists.

WPU outscored TCNJ 42-12 in the second half led by the top scorer in the conference, Sandy Burgos. Burgos tallied 17 out of his game-high 23 points after the intermission. The Pioneers produced a large portion of its offense with heavy defensive pressure, copping 18 steals and scoring 35 points off turnovers.

Jacques Conceicao added 17 points and eight boards in the win. Javae King-Gilchrist, who leads the NJAC in steals with 2.7 per game, finished with 10 points and four takeaways.

A standout performance by Fox in the first half lifted the Lions to a 44-41 lead. He scored 16 points on 4-of-5 shooting from the floor, while knocking down 7-of-8 free throws. TCNJ shot 54 percent in the first half, but trailed for the majority of the period.

When Fox converted a lay-up with 5:10 remaining, the Lions edged ahead 31-30. WPU quickly took the regained the lead, but field goals by Brackett and Johnson made it a 35-32 advantage.

Junior Jason Chalmers (Oakland, NJ/Indian Hills) connected on back-to-back jumpers in the final two minutes to send TCNJ into the break with a three-point cushion.

The Pioneers jetted to a 16-2 run to open the second half. Burgos heated up, scoring half of those points in under five minutes. A conventional three-point play by Brackett with 12:57 cut the Lions' deficit to eight points, but another 16-2 burst by WPU put the game out of reach.

TCNJ will get right back on its horse this Saturday when they return to conference action on Saturday at Kean University for a 1 p.m. tip-off.