PISCATAWAY, N.J. - Rutgers (10-12, 2-7) scored the last six points in regulation to force overtime, but came up short in the extra stanza in an 84-71 loss to rival Seton Hall (15-6, 5-3) Wednesday evening at the RAC. Freshman Mike Coburn (Mt. Vernon, N.Y.), the National Freshman of the Week and BIG EAST Rookie of the Week, scored 23 points on seven of 14 shooting to pace the home squad.
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Corey Chandler's basket sent the game into OT.
(Jim O'Connor/NJ Sport Pics) |
"We don't believe in moral victories, we believe in steps," said Head Coach
Fred Hill. "It's a process. What we look for is to get better. It's never as good as you think but it's also never as bad as you think. There are steps you take to become a great team. We had two great victories against Villanova and Pittsburgh and all we are trying to do is continue along the process and take the necessary steps. I think we are never happy when we lose. There's never a moral victory, but I think we did good things in this game."
Freshman Corey Chandler (Newark, N.J.) and junior Anthony Farmer (Millville, N.J.) also scored in double figures for RU, posting 16 and 10, respectively. The Scarlet Knights shot 32.8 percent (20-61), including a 33.3 percent mark (7-21) from behind the arc. Eugene Harvey scored 26 points to pace four Pirates in double figures, as Seton Hall shot 46.8 percent (29-62) from the field and 42.1 percent (8-19) from long range. Rutgers out-rebounded its visitors by a 49-36 margin.
Seton Hall pressed the Scarlet Knights early and often. The pressure proved effective initially, as the visitors established an 8-2 lead before leading 15-7 after a Brian Laing three-pointer at 12:30. The visitors steadily maintained their advantage, while the Scarlet Knights struggled from the foul line in the opening half. The Pirates increased their lead to 12 points, before a Chandler triple at the horn sent the Scarlet Knights to the locker room at the midpoint trailing by nine, 35-26.
After the break, Seton Hall built a pair of 12 point advantages, before two Chandler free throws reduced the deficit to single digits 51-43 with 9:40 remaining. As the Scarlet Knights free throw shooting improved, the score gradually narrowed. Coburn made both from the charity stripe to register a 61-59 score with 3:05 on the clock. The visitors responded, however, and led 67-61 with just 1:34 remaining.
The Scarlet Knights deposited the next six points. The Pirates had the ball with the chance to win on a final shot, but RU's defense held and forced overtime with the score tied 67-67.
Rutgers was unable to tweak the twine with consistency in the extra time, making just one of seven field goals. Seton Hall, conversely, made four of five shot attempts in overtime to register the win.
Rutgers returns to the hardwood Saturday afternoon at Louisville in a 3:00 p.m. tip-off. The game will be televised live on MSG.
GAME NOTES
The game marks the first overtime game for Rutgers since a 61-50 loss to Connecticut on Feb. 3, 2007. It also marks the second consecutive game with Seton Hall that has gone into overtime. Last season RU defeated the Pirates 74-70 in double-overtime on Jan. 27, 2007 at the RAC. Rutgers is now 1-3 all-time in overtime games against Seton Hall.
The contest featured three ties and two lead changes.
Seton Hall's victory marked the first time in the series the road team has won since the Pirates pulled out a 71-70 win at the RAC on March 7, 2004.
Rutgers outrebounded the Pirates 49-36, including an 18-5 advantage in offensive rebounds. The rebound differential marks the largest differential for an opponent against Seton Hall this season. The Scarlet Knights have outrebounded their opponents 12 times this season.
Rutgers was able to tie the game after facing a 12 point deficit on three separate occasions, two of those in the second half (14:04 and 12:57).
Freshman Mike Coburn (Mt. Vernon, N.Y.) scored 23 points, tying his career-high, previously set against then No. 18 Villanova on Jan. 23.
Coburn connected on three three-pointers, tying his career-high, previously set against then No. 13 Pittsburgh on Jan. 26.
In the last five games Coburn is shooting 73.3 percent (11-of-15) from three point range. In that stretch he is averaging 16.4 points per game while shooting 53.1 percent (26-of-49) from the field. Coburn is averaging a team best 11.8 points per game against conference opponents, after averaging 8.3 points against non-conference opponents.
Coburn grabbed nine rebounds, a career-high. His previous high was seven, set against Rider on Dec. 21.
Sophomore Hamady Ndiaye (Dakar, Senegal) grabbed a career-high 12 rebounds. His previous high was 10, set against Louisville on Jan. 13.
Junior JR Inman (Pomona, N.Y.) finished with seven rebounds, giving him 491 for his career. He passes Eric Riggins (487) for sole possession of 36th place on RU's all-time career rebounds list.
In his last five games, Corey Chandler (Newark, N.J.) is averaging 14.4 points per game while shooting 51.0 percent (25-of-49) from the floor.
At the 6:31 mark of the first half, Byron Joynes (Baltimore, Md.) grabbed an offensive rebound, his second rebound of the game and the 500th of his career. He currently ranks 34th on Rutgers' all-time career rebounds list.
POSTGAME QUOTES
HEAD COACH FRED HILL
On the difference in overtime:
"I think the difference was our foul trouble tonight and our inability to capitalize on a couple of easy shots and free throws. That was the difference in the game. You can't miss free throws all game. Coming in to the game I was concerned that our young guys would make this a bigger game than it was, and I thought there was a lot of excitement and that took us out of our flow and character in the beginning."
"It was nothing that they did but what we did, and it caused us to miss six free throws and that's very unusual for our club. I think at the end it's like a lot of games. In any overtime game you have to look at the score but we're built to defend and score and if the game gets away from you over a stretch, where they get seven or eight run-outs after we didn't score, then that will make things difficult for you. I thought our kids did a phenomenal job in the second half taking the game to overtime. This was the typical Rutgers-Seton Hall game and we came up a little short in overtime."
On problems down the stretch:
"We were in foul trouble and we had to go small which is something we don't like to do. They did a good job when we had to go small. With Hamady [Ndiaye] in there you can do things. He's changing shots, he's blocking shots and he's grabbing rebounds. But when we don't have him in there we can't play the same type of defense and it's more individual, one-on-one and they have the advantage. It was a big concern when we had to take him out of the game."
Positives from the game:
"I think it's a good sign of our growth and maturity. I thought we came out with too much energy. Mike Coburn and Corey Chandler showed a lot of maturity and leadership, and they led the team and made plays in the second half to help us come back. That's a great step forward for those kids."
What can be taken from the game:
"We don't believe in moral victories, we believe in steps. It's a process. What we look for is to get better. It's never as good as you think but it's also never as bad as you think and there are steps you take to become a great team. We had two great victories against Villanova and Pittsburgh and all we are trying to do is continue along the process and take the necessary steps. I think we are never happy when we lose. There's never a moral victory but I think we did good things in this game. The freshmen took another step and Hamady took another step. Being down nine at the end of the first half, being down six with 1:30 to go, making plays to put the game into overtime, those are steps in the process as you grow. You have to get a break here and a break there. Sometimes you come up a little short and sometimes you close it out and win the game."
