News Release

CAMDEN, NJ — William Paterson University junior forward Luis Martinez (Passaic, NJ/Clifton) scored a game-high 27 points as the Pioneers defeated Rutgers University-Camden, 77-54, here Saturday to clinch the regular-season men’s basketball title in the New Jersey Athletic Conference.
Paterson, which has a first-round bye in the upcoming conference playoffs, will host a semifinal game on Thursday, Feb. 23. The Pioneers head into the playoffs with a 13-5 conference record and an 18-7 mark overall.
Rutgers-Camden closes its season at 1-23 and 0-18 in the NJAC, having lost its last 20 games.
Paterson, which has won eight straight and 35 of its last 36 games against Rutgers-Camden, leads the all-time series, 43-5.
With the game tied at 14-14, the Pioneers went on a 12-2 run, sparked by a basket from Martinez, who had six points on three layups during the run. Freshman forward Shawn Colwell (Irvington, NJ/Irvington) added a pair of layups for four points in that decisive stretch.
By halftime, Paterson built its lead to 38-29. For the half, Martinez scored 15 points for the Pioneers, while senior guard Timothy Harris (Burlington, NJ/Burlington Township), playing in his last game as a Scarlet Raptor, had nine.
The Scarlet Raptors sliced the gap to within six points in the second half with a 6-1 run, capped by a three-pointer from Harris, who finished with a career-high 13 points in his final game. His old high was 11 against The College of New Jersey Dec. 7, 2005.
Six points was the closest the Raptors came, however, as Paterson closed out the game on a 22-5 run. The Pioneers received 13 points from quick sophomore guard Joey Spiegel (Teaneck, NJ/Teaneck), in addition to the big game by Martinez. Freshman guard Tim Lucas (Old Bridge, NJ/Old Bridge) added a game-high 11 assists and a team-high four steals for Paterson.
The Pioneers also held a commanding 52-18 advantage off the boards, led by Martinez with nine rebounds.
For the Scarlet Raptors, sophomore guard Amir Fantroyal (Sicklerville, NJ/Timber Creek) had 14 points, while Harris and freshman center Antoine Miller (Camden, NJ/Medical Arts) added 13.
Junior guard Dane Nicholson (Pleasantville, NJ/Holy Spirit) added 10 points for the Raptors as he raised his career total to 818, putting him on track to join the 1,000-point club next season. Nicholson, who averaged 12.7 points this year, also finished with two steals, giving him 52 for the season, tied for eighth on the program’s single-season charts.
With 119 steals in his career, Nicholson already is sixth on the all-time career list. Next year he should make a run at the record of 157, set by Marvin Young (1977-81).
Freshman guard Wayne Smalls (Camden, NJ/Medical Arts), meanwhile, ended his brilliant debut season in collegiate ball with 421 points (19th on the single-season charts) and a 17.5 scoring average. He also set a single-season record (minimum 75 attempts) for free throw percentage with a mark of .876 (78-for-89), breaking the mark of 83.5 by Brian Turner during the 2001-02 season.
Smalls’ brilliant season included seven NJAC Rookie of the Week honors, coming on Dec. 5, Jan. 2, Jan. 9, Jan. 16, Jan. 23, Feb. 6 and Feb. 13.

WILLIAM PATERSON (18-7/13-5 NJAC)
Luis Martinez 12-15 3-5 27; Joey Spiegel 5-11 3-4 13; Nick Torres 4-5 1-2 9; Kelvin DeLosAngeles 2-11 3-4 8; Tim Lucas 3-7 0-0 8; Shawn Colwell 2-3 0-0 4; Samir Sanu 2-5 0-0 4; Jon Torbick 1-1 0-0 3; Larry Leverett 0-3 1-2 1; Jeff Palmer 0-0 0-0 0; Mario Rivero 0-4 0-0 0. Totals 31-65 11-17 77.
RUTGERS-CAMDEN (1-23/0-18 NJAC)
Amir Fantroyal 5-9 2-4 14; Antoine Miller 5-12 3-3 13; Timothy Harris 4-4 4-6 13; Dane Nicholson 3-12 4-4 10; Wayne Smalls 2-11 0-0 4; Drew Bernier 0-1 0-0 0; Eric Richardson 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 19-50 13-17 54.
William Paterson..............   38   39  -   77
Rutgers-Camden................   29   25  -   54
3-point goals-William Paterson 4-17 (Tim Lucas 2-4; Kelvin DeLosAngeles 1-6; Jon Torbick 1-1; Samir Sanu 0-3; Joey Spiegel 0-3), Rutgers-Camden 3-15 (Amir Fantroyal 2-4; Timothy Harris 1-1; Dane Nicholson 0-6; Wayne Smalls 0-3; Drew Bernier 0-1). Fouled out--William Paterson-None, Rutgers-Camden-Amir Fantroyal. Rebounds-William Paterson 52 (Luis Martinez 9), Rutgers-Camden 18 (Amir Fantroyal 5; Timothy Harris 5). Assists-William
Paterson 25 (Tim Lucas 11), Rutgers-Camden 10 (Wayne Smalls 3). Total fouls-William Paterson 18, Rutgers-Camden 19. A-125