WAYNE, NJ (Feb. 25, 2006) - Senior guard Mario Rivero (Elizabeth, NJ/St. Mary's of Elizabeth) poured in seven of his 11 points during a critical 15-5 second-half run as No. 1-seeded William Paterson captured the 2006 New Jersey Athletic Conference Men's Basketball Tournament title with a 67-58 victory over No. 6 Ramapo on Saturday at the William Paterson Rec Center.

The victory gave William Paterson (20-7) its eighth NJAC championship in school history, and first since 2002 when the Pioneers won the last of their three consecutive titles. In addition, they earned the conference's automatic bid to the 2006 NCAA Division III Men's Basketball Championships. The NCAA will announce the 59 teams selected to the tournament Sunday night at 10 p.m., while the brackets will be released Monday at 8 a.m.

Junior forward Luis Martinez (Passaic, NJ/Clifton) led all scorers with 19 points and grabbed eight rebounds for William Paterson while sophomore guard Jason Cameron (Cliffside Park, NJ/Cliffside Park) netted 15 points.

Sophomore guard Ahmad Mosby (Jersey City, NJ/St. Anthony) had 17 points and junior guard Antoine Pryor (Elizabeth, NJ/St. Patrick) added 14 for Ramapo (18-10), which captured the 2005 NJAC Tournament and won road games at No. 3 New Jersey City and No. 2 Richard Stockton just to reach the championship game. The Roadrunners will await word of their postseason fate.

William Paterson never trailed in the contest and was tied just twice. After Ramapo scored five consecutive points to orge a 38-38 deadlock with 15:33 remaining, the Pioneers broke the game open by scoring 17 of the next 24 points. Sophomore guard Joey Spiegel (Teaneck, NJ/Teaneck) hit a bucket in the paint to put his team ahead to stay, 40-38, with 14:26 remaining. Rivero then hit all four of his free throw attempts on William Paterson's next two trips down the court and helped them stretch the lead to 53-43 with just 6:35 left after converting an old-fashioned three-point play.

Ramapo pulled within 61-55 after two free throws by Mosby, but Martinez and freshman guard Tim Lucas (Old Bridge, NJ/Old Bridge) each hit three free throws to ice the contest. William Paterson was 19-for-23 (82.6 percent) at the charity stripe. The Pioneers owned a 41-34 edge on the glass and outscored the Roadrunners, 18-4, on second-chance points. They hit 35.6 percent (21-for-59) of their field-goal attempts.

Senior guard Quameir Harding (Jersey City, NJ/Ferris), the NCAA Division III Leader in steals, grabbed 10 rebounds and swiped five steals for Ramapo. The Roadrunners shot 38.3 percent (18-for-47), including just 4-for-19 beyond the arc, while going 18-for-25 (72.0 percent) at the foul line.