MEN'S HOOPS CONQUERED BY PIONEERS, 71-54

DECEMBER 13, 2008

Old Westbury-William Paterson Boxscore

WAYNE, N.J.-The SUNY College at Old Westbury men's basketball team was victim to a 20-4 run midway through the second half, leading to a 71-54 defeat on the road at non-conference opponent, William Paterson University on Saturday afternoon.  The loss moves Old Westbury to 3-4 on the season while the Pioneers climb to 7-1 on the year.

William Paterson took a 23-17 lead into the break and used a 7-3 run to open the second half to jump out to a 30-20 advantage.  Old Westbury chipped away at William Paterson's 26 point lead with 11:21 left in regulation and pulled within 11 points, but were unable to overcome the Pioneers' 48-37 scoring advantage in the second half.

Junior Bill Reese (Selma, AL) led Old Westbury in scoring with 15 tallies, shooting 6-of-11 from the field in addition to five assists.  Senior John Hemingway (Queensbridge, N.Y.) followed with 12 points, connecting of 5-of-10 shots to go with two steals as sophomore Lester Prosper (Bellmore, N.Y.) pulled-down a game-high 17 rebounds, including 13 off the defensive glass.  Junior Hakiem George (New York, N.Y.) chipped in with nine points, seven rebounds, two blocks and two steals.

In all, William Paterson registered two Pioneers in double-figures with Joseph Ellis pouring in a game-high 22 points.  William Paterson got 11 points from Chris Brown as Tim Lucas tallied six points, six assists and nine rebounds.  Courtney Nelson dished out a game-best eight assists.

William Paterson overcame a 9-for-27 shooting output in the first half and went 13-for-31 (41.9 percent) from the floor to maintain the lead throughout the second half. Old Westbury was 14-of-37 (37.8 percent) from the field in the final stanza.  Overall, Old Westbury shot 34.3 percent (21-for-61) from the field, while the Pioneers shot 37.9 percent (22-for-58).  Old Westbury shot 3-for-21 (14.3 percent) from long distance which included 0-for-7 in the second half.  Old Westbury, paced by Propser's 17 boards, drew even in the rebounding department, 42-42.  William Paterson had 19 points off 19 Old Westbury turnovers while the Panthers had seven points from 14 Pioneer giveaways.  Old Westbury's bench was outscored 47-19.    

The Green and Ivory will pick up their dibble next at the Cactus Jam in Phoenix, Arizona against University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh on Saturday, December 27^th.  Tipoff is slated for 4:00 p.m.  Tipoff is slated for 7:00 p.m.  Please visit www.oldwestburypanthers.com for more information on men's basketball or any of the other Panther athletic teams.