Rutgers men’s basketball opened its home slate with a comfortable 81-54 win over New Haven, and the scoreboard told the story of a team that found its rhythm early and kept widening the gap. Four Scarlet Knights finished with at least 12 points, and Rutgers never gave the Chargers much room to breathe after briefly falling behind in the first half.
New Haven grabbed a 3-2 lead with 17:41 left before Tariq Francis answered with a two-point jumper to put Rutgers back in front. From there, the Scarlet Knights stayed in control the rest of the way, stretching the margin to as many as 30 points before closing out the 27-point victory.
The opening stretch set the tone. Rutgers held New Haven to eight points over the first 10 minutes and built an 18-8 lead.
The defense stayed steady through the rest of the half, and the offense picked up late to send the Knights into the break up 39-23. That momentum carried into the second half, where Rutgers pushed the lead to 67-37 with 10 minutes remaining.
New Haven trimmed only three points off the deficit the rest of the game.
Rutgers got efficient scoring across the board. The Knights hit 30 of 60 shots from the field, good for 50%, and knocked down 9 of 23 from three-point range.
Francis and Rasheed Jones led the way with 14 points apiece, while JaMichael Davis added 13 and Gurdak chipped in 12. Darin Smith Jr. also scored nine points and led Rutgers with six rebounds, while Davis grabbed five and Gurdak finished with four.
The Scarlet Knights made extra possessions count, too. Rutgers pulled down 13 offensive rebounds and turned them into 19 second-chance points.
New Haven had its moments on offense, even if Rutgers controlled the game. The Chargers shot 20 of 50 from the floor and made 7 of 20 from deep.
Teshuan Steele and Zoumana Traora each scored 15 points and combined for 13 rebounds. Rutgers, though, forced 17 turnovers, and that pressure helped keep the Chargers from ever making a real push.
There were still some rough edges for Rutgers, especially on the defensive end. The new roster showed flashes of scoring punch, but the Knights also had communication issues that will need to be cleaned up as the season goes on.
The bigger test comes quickly, with Rutgers set to host NJIT on Tuesday, November 10th at 6:30. The game will air on the Big Ten Network.
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