EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. - In a thrilling BIG EAST opener for both teams at the Continental Airlines Arena, the Rutgers men's basketball team dropped a tough 77-72 decision to Seton Hall Wednesday night.

Freshman center Hamady N'Diaye emphatically dunks in the closing minutes.

The Scarlet Knights (7-7, 0-1 BIG EAST) climbed back from an early 18-point deficit with a 17-0 run near the end of the first half. Sophomore Jaron Griffin scored seven of his 15 first-half points during the run, while sophomore Anthony Farmer added six during the spurt. A Pirate layup as time expired in the first half gave SHU a 36-33 advantage at the break.  

The game remained tight throughout the second half. In a 10-4 run that gave Seton Hall a seven-point lead with less than five minutes remaining, Seton Hall's Eugene Harvey scored six points, including three on an off-balance prayer that bounced in after he was fouled by Adrian Hill.

That ended up being barely enough as Rutgers closed to within a basket when Marquis Webb scored on a drive to make it 74-72. Paul Gause missed the second of two free throws for Seton Hall with 6.7 seconds left, but Harvey got the rebound and was fouled and made both shots as the Pirates escaped with the victory.

Rutgerssophomore forward JR Inman notched his third career double-double with 18 points and 12 rebounds to lead four Scarlet Knights in double figures. Farmer added 17 points, with Griffin and senior guard Marquis Webb chipping in 15 and 12 points, respectively for RU.

Brian Laing and Eugene Harvey scored 21 points each to lead Seton Hall

The game marked the BIG EAST debuts for both Rutgers' Fred Hill and Seton Hall's Bobby Gonzalez.

Rutgers will travel to Cincinnati, Ohio, to take on the University of Cincinnati Bearcats this Sunday at 2:00 p.m.

POSTGAME NOTES

Rutgers' first-half 17-0 run to pull within a point just before halftime is the most points scored in succession by the Scarlet Knights this season.

With a season-high 18 points and 12 rebounds, sophomore forward JR Inman recorded his second double-double of the season and third of his career. He notched his first career double-double against Kent State on Nov. 25, 2005 with 11 points and 10 boards. Earlier this season against Princeton on Dec. 13, Inman posted 12 points and 13 rebounds. 

With a pair of free throws at the 6:48 mark of the second half, Inman established a new season-best in scoring with 18 points.

Inman has now scored in double figures in 12 of the 13 games he has played this season. He leads the Scarlet Knights in scoring this year, averaging 13.2 points per game.  Inman has paced the team in scoring in seven of the team's 13 games this season.

Sophomore guard Anthony Farmer tied his career high with 17 points. His other 17-point performance also came against the Pirates on Jan. 7, 2006.

Senior guard Marquis Webb moved into a tie of 11th place on the Rutgers all-time assist chart with his one assist against Seton Hall. He now has 289 along with former Scarlet Knight Rich Brunson (1979-83). He needs just four assists to crack the all-time top-10.

Webb matched a career-best with four steals versus the Pirates. Webb previously swiped four versus Penn State on Dec. 1, 2004.

Sophomore Jaron Griffin logged 40 minutes against Seton Hall, the most in his career (47 games). His previous high was 37 minutes at North Carolina on Dec. 28.  Griffin finished with 15 points in the game, one off his season and career high (Nebraska, Dec. 2, 2006).

The eight team steals are the second-best showing of the season for Rutgers. RU registered 14 steals versus Thomas Aquinas on Nov. 19, 2006, the second game of the winter.