Wayne, NJ … The College of New Jersey men's basketball team was defeated 83-47 by William Paterson University in New Jersey Athletic Conference action on Saturday afternoon.
 
The loss drops the Lions to 13-11 overall and 8-9 in the conference. The Pioneers (12-12, 7-10) kept their playoff hopes alive with the win as league members have one final game to determine the regular season standings.
 
TCNJ sits in fifth place with Montclair State University a half-game back entering today's 4 p.m. tip-off at New Jersey City University. With four teams vying for the final two post-season bids, the Lions can make things simple for themselves with a victory at Kean University on Wednesday night to secure a playoff spot. TCNJ defeated the Cougars 81-68 in Packer Hall on January 13^th.
 
The Red Hawks host Stockton University on Wednesday night, while WPU visits Rowan for its season finale. Rowan University is also in the mix with a 6-10 league record. They play at Rutgers-Newark tonight at 8 p.m. before hosting the Pioneers. The Profs would need to win out coupled with two Montclair losses.
 
WPU ran 12 straight points to open the game and never relinquished the lead. They dominated all facets of the game and forced 18 turnovers. Tarik Bridgeman registered a double double to spearhead the win for the Pioneers. He had a game-high 21 points on 10-of-17 shooting and 10 rebounds. Bright Mensah connected on four, three-point field goals and finished with 19 points. Zach Frick also reached double figures with 11 points.
 
For TCNJ, sophomore Eric Murdock, Jr. (Bridgewater, NJ/Bridgewater) finished with 14 points and was 6-of-7 from the free throw line. Sophomore Kevin Johnson (Belle Mead, NJ/Montgomery) added eight points on 3-of-6 shooting and freshman Jordan Glover (Lawrence, NJ/Lawrence) collected a team-high nine rebounds.
 
The Lions will to even their conference mark and clinch a berth into the conference tournament on Wednesday night in Union, NJ. Tip-off is scheduled for 8 p.m.