WAYNE, N.J. (1/12/22) – Letrell West and JD Daniels combined for 29 points as the Kean University men's basketball team dropped a New Jersey Athletic Conference contest to William Paterson University, 83-76 on Wednesday evening.

Domenic Mignone led all scorers with 24 points for the Pioneers who improve to 8-5 overall and 5-3 in the NJAC.  West finished with 16 points for the Cougars who fall to 9-4 overall and 4-4 in the NJAC.

The Cougars opened the game on a 15-6 run over the first seven minutes. Daniels and Terrence Durham each notched four points apiece during the run. Kean stretched their lead to the largest of the contest with a 44-30 halftime lead. Kendall Blount scored nine points and Nate Lyles added six during the run.  

The Cougars shot 59.3% from the field in the opening stanza, while the Pioneers posted a 35.4% from the floor.

The roles were reversed in the second half with Paterson shooting 58.6% compared to 32.2% for Kean. The Cougars maintained at least an eight-point advantage over the first five minutes, before the Pioneers answered with a 15-7 run to erase a 10-point lead and even the game at 58-58 with 8:23 remaining.

Kean's cold shooting continued as Paterson used a 20-10 run to hold a commanding 78-67 lead with 1:37 remaining. The Cougars were able to get some points back before the final buzzer as Durham made two layups in the final 90 seconds.

Daniels totaled 13 points, while Jailen Jamison finished with nine points, six rebounds, three assists and three steals. Durham collected 10 points, while Blount tallied 12 points.

Head Coach David Turco and the Cougars will return to action on Saturday, Jan. 15^th, hosting the Scarlet Raptors of Rutgers-Camden at 1:00 p.m.