Rutgers University
Notre Dame
Rutgers Falls to Notre Dame in Season Finale, 73-66
Mar 03 | Men's Basketball
PISCATAWAY, N.J. - The Rutgers men's basketball team dropped a 73-66 decision to No. 17 Notre Dame in front of a sold-out crowd of 8,011 at the RAC on Saturday. The loss concluded the season for the Scarlet Knights, who finished 10-19 overall and 3-13 in conference action.
Senior forward Adrian Hill (Canton, Ohio) finished his career on a high note, posting his fourth career double-double against the Irish. Hill led Rutgers in scoring and rebounding with 16 points and a game-high 18 boards.
Senior guard Marquis Webb (Paterson, N.J.) added 13 points for the Scarlet Knights, while sophomore guard Courtney Nelson (Newark, N.J.) chipped in 12. Webb ended his career as Rutgers' 33rd all-time leading scorer with 1,026 career points.
Notre Dame had four players in double-figures, led by forward Colin Falls' 22 points. Russell Carter scored 17 points for the Irish, followed by Rob Kurz with 13 and Luke Harangody with 10.
Notre Dame opened a 6-0 lead and led for the entire game. Behind the 3-point shooting of Falls, the Irish took a 35-26 lead in the locker room at halftime.
The Irish equaled their largest lead two minutes into the second half at 44-31, and never let Rutgers get closer than four the rest of the way. The Scarlet Knights cut an eight-point (57-49) deficit to five (62-57) with six minutes, but were unable to capitalize as the Irish extended their lead to 10 (71-61) with less than a minute remaining.
Prior to the game, Rutgers recognized the six members of its 2007 senior class - Webb, Hill, Frank Russell (Fayetteville, N.C.), Shayle Keating (Teaneck, N.J.), Jon Mimmo (Linwood, N.J.), and Jason Cherry (Atlantic City, N.J.) - with a Senior Day presentation. Also honored was managers Rebecca Millan and Dave Restrepo, and office assistant Andrea Osei.
POSTGAME NOTES
HILL CONTROLS THE GLASS
Hill recorded the fourth double-double of his career with 16 points and a game-high 18 rebounds against the Irish. Hill's four double-doubles have all come during this season.
WEBB FINISHES RUTGERS CAREER AS RU'S 33rd ALL-TIME LEADING SCORER
With his 13 points in tonight's game, Webb finished his career as Rutgers' 33rd all-time leading scorer with 1,026 career points.
Rank Player Career Points
32. Gene Armstead (1970-73) 1,046
33. Marquis Webb (2003-present) 1,026
HILL AND WEBB END CAREERS IN RU RECORD BOOKS
Career Field Goal Percentage (min. 200 att.) Career Three Point Field Goals Attempted
1. Rashod Kent (1998-2002) 435-721 (.603) 1. Ricky Shields (2001-05) 742
9. Adrian Hill (2002-07) 219-421 (.520) 7. Marquis Webb (2003-07) 410
Career Free Throw Percentage (min. 150 att.) Career Scoring Leaders
1. Bob Lloyd (1964-67) .898 1. Phil Sellers (1972-76) 2,399
12. Marquis Webb (2003-07) .785 33. Marquis Webb (2003-07) 1,026
Career Rebounds Career Three-Point Field Goals Made
1. Phil Sellers (1972-76) 1,111 1. Ricky Shields (2001-05) 265
37. Adrian Hill (2002-07) 461 9. Marquis Webb (2003-07) 140
46. Marquis Webb (2003-07) 380
Career Steals Career Blocks
1. Eddie Jordan (1973-77) 220 1. Roy Hinson (1979-83) 355
14. Marquis Webb (2003-07) 117 15. Adrian Hill (2002-07) 65
Steve Worthy (1991-93) 117
Geoff Billet (1995-99) 117
Career Assists Single-Season Field Goal Percentage
1. Eddie Jordan (1973-77) 585 1. Rashod Kent (1998-99) .667
9. Marquis Webb (2003-07) 305 7. Adrian Hill (2006-07) .586
BLOCK PARTY
Freshman center Hamady N'diaye recorded two blocks against the Irish. N'diaye finished his rookie season with 49 blocks to crack RU's record book for blocks in a single season and his career. He ended the season with the 16th-best single-season mark in Rutgers history. He is also RU's 23rd all-time leading blocker, trailing Byron Joynes' 52 career blocks for the 22nd spot.
SENIOR SENDOFF
The six seniors on Rutgers' 2006-07 roster were honored in a pre-game ceremony: center Frank Russell, guard Shayle Keating, guard Jon Mimmo, guard Jason Cherry, forward Adrian Hill and forward Marquis Webb.
Mimmo and Keating made their first-ever career starts as Scarlet Knights. Mimmo scored three points in three minutes of play, while Keating also saw three minutes of action against Notre Dame.
Russell tied his career-mark in blocks with two in just three minutes of action in today's game. He had also posted two blocks in four previous games.
Fred Hill Post-game Quotes:
"My first year was very, very rewarding. Our focus and our goals, from the beginning of the year, were continuing to get better and playing with passion and pride, and I think you saw that today."
"I'm very proud the way the guys have played through adversity. That is all you can ask for when you are building, that you compete and get better."
"I'm thankful for the leadership that Marquis and Adrian brought to this program. It's something that will never be forgotten."
"Adrian Hill gets a chance to go out with 16 points and 18 rebounds, you can't ask for a better way to go out besides winning the ball game."
"Marquis Webb does so many things so well for us."
"They (Marquis and Adrian) are going to come back one day and realize they were part of the foundation."
"The future is JR Inman, Courtney Nelson, Anthony Farmer, and Jaron Griffin and Hamady N'Diaye, and I saw growth from all of those guys in different areas."
"We are losing a tremendous leader in Marquis, and in my 26 years of coaching, I've never seen a player develop into a leader like Adrian did."
"We got some great looks tonight, some real wide-open ones. We called a play for Courtney Nelson against the zone and he buried it. Even though Griff really struggled tonight, we ran a play for him at the beginning of the 2nd half and he buried a three to get us going."
"One thing that really hurt us tonight was the way we shot free throws. To shoot 55 percent, especially 4 for 10 in the first half, when you're trying to get back in the game, it really makes it an uphill battle in the 2nd half."
"Even though the season is over, we still have a lot to get ready for."
