Junior forward Luis Martinez (Passaic, NJ/Clifton) added 16 points for the Pioneers (19-7), including five free throws in the final 2:18, to set up a meeting with No. 6 Ramapo, the 2005 conference champion which defeated No. 2 Richard Stockton, 57-54, in the other NJAC semifinal. The game will be Saturday, Feb. 25, at 2 p.m. at William Paterson Rec Center.
William Paterson will be vying for the eighth NJAC championship in school history and first since 2002, when it won the third of its three consecutive conference crowns. The Pioneers defeated the Roadrunners twice during the regular-season: 54-51 in Mahwah on Jan. 11 and 73-71 in Wayne on Feb. 15.
Junior forward Jermont Horton (Irvington, NJ/Irvington) scored a game-high 20 points for Rutgers-Newark (18-9), including 15 in the first half, while freshman guard Chadd Barnes (Newark, NJ/University) dropped in 19 for the Scarlet Raiders.
William Paterson led 35-24 at halftime, but Rutgers-Newark scored 12 straight points to tie the game at 36. Senior forward Rico Thompson (Hillside, NJ/Hillside) converted a pair of lay-ups during the run. A 3-pointer by Spiegel game the Pioneers the lead for good, 39-36, but Rutgers-Newark hung around. However, Spiegel scored seven of his points in the final 4:21 and Martinez went 5-for-6 at the charity stripe to stave off any hopes of a Scarlet Raider comeback.
William Paterson started the game strong, scoring the first 11 points. Sophomore guard Jason Cameron (Cliffside Park, NJ/Cliffside Park), who scored 12 of his 13 points in the first half, buried three treys within the first 3:37. The Scarlet Raiders rallied to within six points on a few occasions thanks to Horton, who scored 15 first-half points. However, Martinez tallied the Pioneers' final five points of the first half and finished the stanza with eight as William Paterson took a 35-24 lead into the locker room. The Pioneers shot 52.0 percent in the first 20 minutes, going 13-for-25 from the floor and 6-for-11 from long distance.
Junior swingman Samir Sanu (Edison, NJ/Sayreville) netted 10 points and seven rebounds for William Paterson, which shot 45.8 percent (22-for-48), including 10-for-20 from 3-point range.
Senior guard Justin Carter (Paterson, NJ/Don Bosco Tech) finished with 12 points and five rebounds for the Scarlet Raiders.