Rutgers University
Manhattan
Rutgers Concludes 2007 With 73-67 Home Win Over Manhattan
Dec 29 | Men's Basketball
PISCATAWAY, N.J. - Junior JR Inman (Pomona, N.Y.) registered his fourth double-double of the season, scoring 16 points and grabbing 10 rebounds, to help lead Rutgers (8-5) to a 73-67 win over Manhattan (7-5) Saturday afternoon at the RAC. The Scarlet Knights shot a season-best 47.2 percent (25-53) from the field and withstood a late Jaspers charge to finish 2007 on a positive note.
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JR Inman finished with 16 points and 10 rebounds. (Photo by Tom Ciszek/NJSportsPhoto) |
A trip of juniors scored in double figures to propel the home squad. Guard Anthony Farmer (Millville, N.J.) made five of nine field goal attempts and five of six free throws en route to 16 points, his fourth straight game in double figures. Fellow ball handler Courtney Nelson (Newark, N.J.) deposited four of eight shows and converted all three of his attempts from the charity stripe to tally a season-high 12 points.
The lead changed hands on six occasions in an opening half that also saw three ties. A Nelson three-pointer with 6:32 remaining before the break provided RU a 25-22 advantage. Rutgers would maintain the lead from that point forward and entered the locker room and the midpoint with a 36-32 lead.
A back-and-forth affair ensued after intermission. Manhattan reduced its deficit to a single point (43-42) after a Brandon Adams three-point play with 14:36 on the clock. The Scarlet Knights answered the challenge, however, scoring 23 of the contest's next 27 points to establish a 66-46 lead with 6:42 to go. It marked Rutgers largest lead of the game, but the Jaspers did not relent. A little over five minutes later on the game clock, the advantage was a down to just five points, 70-65, after Darryl Crawford made two of the free throw attempts.
The 6,015 Scarlet-clad fans in attendance were sitting a little uneasy, but Rutgers responded for a second time in decisive fashion. A thunderous slam dunk by Inman with 33 seconds remaining brought the crowd to its feet and squelched any hope of a late comeback. A pair of late free throws by the visitors registered the 73-67 final.
The victory concluded the Scarlet Knights non-conference schedule. Rutgers returns to the hardwood for its BIG EAST opener versus South Florida at 7:00 p.m. on Wednesday, January 2 in Tampa. The game will be televised live on ESPN2. The schools have met five times on the hardwood, with Rutgers holding a 4-1 advantage in victories.
POSTGAME NOTES
As a team, Rutgers finished with a field-goal percentage of 47.2 (25-53), its highest field-goal percentage this season. The previous high was 46.2 percent (30-65) in its 90-79 win over Lafayette on Dec. 05 at the RAC. The Scarlet Knights are 6-0 when outshooting their opponent, and 7-1 when shooting between 40 and 49 percent.
Sophomore Hamady Ndiaye (Dakar, Senegal) blocked two shots, giving him 50 on the year, passing his last season total of 49. The 50 blocks for Ndiaye marks the 17th-best single-season block total in RU history.
Junior Anthony Farmer (Millville, N.J.) tallied two assists, giving him 238 for his career and tying him with Mike Jones for 21st on Rutgers all-time assist list.
Farmer finished with 16 points, the fourth straight game he has scored in double-figures. He has not scored in double-figures in four straight games since the 2005-06 season. Farmer has never scored in double-figures in five straight games.
Junior JR Inman (Pomona, N.Y.) finished with 16 points and 10 rebounds, his fourth double-double of the season and eighth of his career.
Inman increased his career rebounding average to 6.8, good for sole possession of 22nd place on Rutgers all-time career-rebounding average list.
Senior Byron Joynes (Baltimore, Md.) drew three charges, giving him 11 for the season. Joynes leads the team in charges drawn.
Junior Courtney Nelson (Newark, N.J.) finished with 12 points, a season-high. Nelson's scoring total marks the first time he has scored in double-figures since he scored 12 points against Notre Dame on March 3, 2007, the final game of the 2006-07 season.
Nelson tied his career-high with two steals, previously set twice, most recently at St. John's on Feb. 15, 2007.
Freshman Earl Pettis (Philadelphia, Pa.) scored seven points, a career-high. His previous high was six, set on Dec. 16 against No. 1 UNC.
COACH HILL POSTGAME QUOTES
On The Victory:
"We hung in there and we made the plays we had to in the end. We were able to come away with a good victory. We shot the ball a little better today and we did a great job of driving the basketball. We also did a great job of getting to the free throw line and using the free throw line as an offensive weapon."
On The Bench Contributing:
"We need contributions from everybody, so it's nice to see some guys bounce back after not playing particularly well. It was nice to see Byron (Joynes) make big plays for us. Courtney (Nelson) gave us offense that we needed, especially in the first half. It's nice to see those guys get some time, be able to contribute and hopefully feel good about themselves."
On The Game Tightening In The Second Half:
"When you get up 20 points, sometimes guys get a different mind set, but the real good teams learn to play hard no matter what. You have to give Manhattan credit for continuing to play. The team that is down can go into the tank and that's when you see a 30 point win, but to Manhattan's credit they kept playing. The team that's up has to develop the right mindset and stretch it out from 20 to 30, and we haven't been able to do that yet."
On The Big Outside Shots During The Second Half Run:
"We had some good open looks today. JR (Inman) made a big one in our run from out on the left wing. Those are the same shots we've been getting but Anthony (Farmer) and JR knocked them down today especially when we pushed the lead to 20 points. If you don't make those two shots, you don't have that type of run. That's six big points. We knocked down some big ones when we had to, but I wouldn't say that we shot the ball particularly great from the perimeter. I thought we did a great job of driving. The way they played us allowed us to drive the basketball, and we took advantage of that."
