Rutgers didn’t need long to separate itself from Bryant. The Scarlet Knights were stuck in a first-half fight, then flipped the game with a second-half surge and rolled to a 72-51 win at home.
The opening stretch was sluggish on both sides. For about the first five minutes, the only scoring came from a pull-up elbow jumper by senior guard Tariq Francis.
Rutgers gradually found some traction inside. Sophomore and senior centers Christian Gurdak and Dorin Buca helped push the lead to 10 points, combining for 10 points around the 13-minute mark. But the early lift really came from senior guard Jamichael Davis off the bench, who supplied 7 points, buried a three and went 4-for-4 at the line.
Bryant kept hanging around by leaning on the perimeter. Roi Behar and Keegan Harvey each hit threes as the Bulldogs chipped away, and after another pair of long balls they were within three with under four minutes left in the half.
That was the story of Bryant’s first-half offense: fire away from deep and hope enough go down. The Bulldogs launched 22 shots from beyond the arc and made seven, with Behar doing most of the damage. He scored 17 points on 5-for-6 shooting from three, and his hot hand was the main reason Rutgers only led 35-31 at halftime.
“You have to be willing to make adjustments, to get a little bit out of your comfort zone,” said acting head coach Brandin Knight.
Rutgers came out flat after the break and Bryant took advantage. Five straight misses opened the door for a 7-0 Bulldogs run in the first three minutes, with Bryant doing its work in the paint.
But that stretch didn’t last. After the teams traded baskets, Rutgers put together an 8-0 burst in less than two minutes, and Davis capped it with a three that forced Bryant head coach Jamion Christian to call timeout.
The very next possession out of the timeout, Davis forced a turnover. Then he struck again, knocking down two more threes and finishing a 16-2 run with 13 minutes left.
From there, Rutgers stayed in control. Eric Chatfield Jr. scored, freshman forward Mervedi Miteo answered for Bryant, and the Knights never let the margin slip back below double digits.
The Bulldogs’ outside shooting never recovered. Bryant finished 9-for-37 from three, and Behar was held to just 2 points in the second half.
“We did make some slight adjustments in our coverage. They were trying to bait us into some coverage so they could pass, get rotations and get some threes.
We changed our screen coverage and some of our coverages away from the ball,” Knight said. “It’s a big shout out to our guys, because some of these adjustments we made on the fly.
We don’t typically guard like that.”
Rutgers also controlled the glass, finishing with a 47-29 rebounding edge.
Gurdak turned in the best night of his career, finishing with 20 points and 14 rebounds. Davis added 18. Francis, meanwhile, played only three minutes in the second half while others carried the load.
“Their ultimate goal is just to win,” said Knight. “If any of these guys have off nights and someone else is having a night, then we’re going to go with the hot hand.”
Rutgers now heads to Las Vegas for the Players Era Festival, where it will face No. 8 Houston on Tuesday.
“It’s a great opportunity. For all of these guys, deal with the first game and don’t worry about anything else.”
Knight said. “Our focus is solely on Houston, we’ll start building our game plan and implementing everything tomorrow.”
In Other News...
Rutgers Just Got A Harsh Reminder Of How Far They Have To Go
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The result also gave Nebraska a needed lift, as the Huskers reached bowl eligibility for a third straight season and showed improvement in all three phases from the previous week. Defensive coordinator Rob Aurichs unit set the tone, and the overall performance gave Nebraska momentum with two regular-season games left. For Rutgers, the challenge is less about one bad night than the larger lesson it carried: the standard it has to meet is still a long way off. [Read more 🡒]
Rutgers Volleyball Just Gave Fans One More Match To Watch
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Malia Romes, Skylar George and Lily Bolen helped carry the load in the win, with Bolen turning in a double-double in a night that also marked a personal milestone. The victory leaves Rutgers in a tie for 14th place in the Big Ten as the team heads toward its regular-season finale against Penn State and waits on the tournament picture to settle. [Read more 🡒]
Rutgers Faces A Familiar Fear As Nebraska Comes To Piscataway
Rutgers heads into its Nov. 14 matchup with Nebraska carrying the kind of injury uncertainty that can change a game plan before kickoff. The Scarlet Knights are already trying to rebound from recent losses, and the offense is dealing with multiple key absences that could limit what it can do against a Big Ten opponent coming to Piscataway.
The timing makes the challenge even tougher, because Nebraska is also arriving off a rough stretch and still looks like the more stable team based on current form. Rutgers will need to find answers quickly if it wants to keep the game competitive, but the matchup now carries the familiar fear of a team trying to patch together enough firepower to stay afloat against a conference foe. [Read more 🡒]