Rutgers University
New Hampshire
Rutgers Posts Second-Straight Win
Dec 06 | Men's Basketball
PISCATAWAY, N.J. - The Rutgers men's basketball team (3-5, 0-0 BIG EAST) recorded its second-straight victory, and its third of the season, with a 55-48 win over the University of New Hampshire (1-7, 0-0 America East) on Wednesday night at the Louis Brown Athletic Center (RAC).
Senior guard Marquis Webb (Paterson, N.J.) led the Scarlet Knights with 14 points, while sophomore guard Anthony Farmer (Millville, N.J.) scored a season-high 12 points, including 3-for-4 from the three-point line, tying a career-best. Sophomore forwards JR Inman (Pomona, N.Y.) and Jaron Griffin (Manchester, N.J.) both added eight points, while Griffin pulled down a game-best eight rebounds, tying a career-high.
"I think [learning to win] is something that teams have to do," said first-year head coach Fred Hill. "After the success of the Nebraska game I think that we learned a valuable lesson on how you have to come out and handle success. I think that we have done a great job coming out and handling adversity all year long. It was a great win tonight, they can learn from this, they can learn how to handle a little bit of success and how you come back and work hard. I would much rather be sitting here talking about learning from a win than learning from a tough loss."
The Scarlet Knights limited the Wildcats to an 18-percent (2-of-11) performance from three-point range, a season-low for a New Hampshire team that had averaged 33 percent from behind the arc in its first six games.
"Our game plan was to take [the three-point shot] away from them, so we did give up some things that we normally wouldn't give up which was some post-ups to their players inside," Hill said. "I thought we followed the game plan extremely well."
Rutgers owned a 37-16 advantage at the break, the Scarlet Knights' biggest halftime lead this season. Farmer led Rutgers in the first half, scoring nine points on 3-of-3 shooting from three-point range. He staked Rutgers to a 6-0 lead with back-to-back threes.
Following a Wildcat basket, sophomore guard Courtney Nelson (Newark, N.J.) hit two free throws, giving the Scarlet Knights an 8-2 lead through the first five minutes. With 13:11 left in the opening half, Rutgers took a nine-point lead (11-2) when Webb grabbed an offensive rebound and put in a lay-up.
With 12:24 remaining, Griffin nailed Rutgers' third bucket from behind the three-point line, extending the Scarlet Knights' lead to 14-2. Inman gave the Scarlet Knights a 23-point edge at the 8:01 mark on a fast break lay-up.
New Hampshire opened the second half with a 13-4 run and at the 9:34 mark, had cut the Scarlet Knight lead to nine,
43-34. Hill responded on Rutgers' next possession, pulling down an offensive rebound and making the put-back, giving the Scarlet Knights a 45-34 advantage.
With 7:59 remaining, Webb hit a three, his second of the game, giving the Scarlet Knights a 14-point lead. Rutgers went scoreless for nearly four minutes, but Webb ended the drought with a jumper from the right wing with 4:15 to play, as the Scarlet Knights took a 50-36 lead.
Hill drew a charge with 1:53 remaining, helping protect Rutgers' seven-point (50-43) lead. Farmer went 3-of-4 from the charity stripe in the final minute to secure the Rutgers win.
The Scarlet Knights will travel to Princeton, N.J., for an in-state match-up with the Tigers on Saturday, Dec. 9, at 4:00 p.m.
POSTGAME NOTES
WITH THE WIN
With the 55-48 win over New Hampshire, Rutgers improved to 3-5 on the season and 3-0 in its series with the Wildcats. The Scarlet Knights are also 25-5 all-time against America East opponents.
A "KNIGHT" OF FIRSTS
Freshman center Hamady N'diaye and sophomore guard Courtney Nelson made their first starts as Scarlet Knights, starting in place of senior forward Adrian Hill and senior guard Marquis Webb. Hill and Webb did not start due to violation of team academic policy.
N'diaye played 16 minutes and had two blocks and has now recorded at least one block in seven of the team's eight games this season. Nelson scored four points and dished out two assists in 22 minutes of action.
DOMINANT DEFENSE
The 16 first-half points scored by New Hampshire were the fewest allowed by Rutgers since Feb. 26, 2006 when the Scarlet Knights limited South Florida to just 15 points in the opening half. RU's defense also held a New Hampshire team that entered tonight's game shooting 33-percent from three-point range to just 18.2-percent (2-of-11) on the night.
PROTECTING THE BALL
In Rutgers' 55-48 win against New Hampshire, the Scarlet Knights committed just nine turnovers. The last time RU recorded nine or fewer miscues came in a 71-62 victory over St. Joseph's on March 16, 2006, as Rutgers ended the contest with six.
NOT LOOKING BACK
Rutgers jumped-out to a quick six-point lead and never trailed in the game. The team's 21-point halftime lead over the Wildcats was the largest of the season, topping the previous high of 15 against St. Thomas Aquinas (11/19).
GRIFFIN'S CAREER NIGHT
Sophomore forward Jaron Griffin's eight rebounds against the Wildcats tied his career-high, originally set against Maine on Dec. 15, 2005.
FANTASTIC FARMER
Farmer finished the night with a season-high 12 points, eclipsing his previous season high of 11 against Temple (11/29/06). The sophomore guard also tied his career-high of three-pointers made (vs. Marquette, 1/25/06), as he went 3-of-4 from beyond the arc.
WEBB SCORES IN DOUBLE FIGURES
Senior guard Marquis Webb came off the bench to lead the team with 14 points and has now scored in double-digits in four of RU's eight games this season.
Fred Hill quotes from New Hampshire post game press conference:
On the opening half:
"In the first half we came out with great passion and great energy and again we made shots. All of sudden Marquis Webb steps up and hits a shot and Anthony Farmer got us started off in the first half - If I remember right, he was 3-for-3 from three. What we talk about all the time is playing Rutgers basketball every possession of every game no matter what the score is."
On New Hampshire's second half adjustment:
"It's human nature to let up a little bit, but I give credit to New Hampshire because they came out and sat in their 2-3 zone and it slows the game down and takes away a lot of our energy and now you have to step up and makes shots. In the second half instead of the first couple going in and playing with confidence, the first couple didn't go in and all the sudden it becomes contagious the other way and the rim gets a little bit smaller and everybody gets a little tighter and all the sudden on the defensive end you can't play with the same energy and you find yourself in a game."
On second half finish:
"When shots aren't going in you have to make plays to win basketball games and as poorly as we shot in the second half we still found a way to get big defensive stops and big rebounds when we had to have them and make big shots when you need to have them. Marquis Webb made a huge shot for us. And we got a couple of offensive rebounds and you find other ways to win a basketball game and that's what you're supposed to do to win when you're not shooting the ball well."
On limiting New Hampshire's three-point offense:
"That was a team that came in averaging 25 threes a game. Our game plan was to take that away from them so we did give up some things that we normally wouldn't give up which was some post-ups to their players inside because we didn't want them to shoot the three. That's how they are very effective. And I thought we did a terrific job of limiting them to 11 threes and they only made two. So I thought we followed the game plan extremely well but when you take something away you're also giving something up and what we gave up was some paint baskets. We allowed 14 and 33 to be better post players than normal."
On winning a game that "you should win" (as per media question):
"I think that's something that teams have to learn how to do. I was really concerned after a big win against Nebraska because you have to handle adversity one way and you have to learn how to handle success another way. And after the success of the Nebraska game I think that we learned a valuable lesson on how you have to come out and handle success. I think that we have done a great job coming out and handling adversity all year long.
"We had some tough games and they kept coming back and worked hard in practice and have done a lot of good things. I just told them that it wasn't pretty it wasn't artistic but it was a win and you have to learn how to win when you don't shoot the ball well. You have to do other things on the basketball court as well. So, it was a great win, they can learn from this; they can learn how to handle a little bit of success and how you come back and work hard. I would much rather be sitting here talking about learning from a win than learning from a tough loss."
