PISCATAWAY, N.J. - Guard Mike Rosario (Jersey City, N.J.) scored 14 points and fellow rookie Gregory Echenique (Guatire, Venezuela) grabbed 12 rebounds, but it was not enough, as Rutgers (5-3) dropped a 66-56 decision to Binghamton (4-2) Saturday afternoon at the RAC. The Scarlet Knights were tormented by turnovers, and were unable to overcome the miscues despite a 42-29 advantage in rebounds.

Freshman forward Gregory Echenique grabbed 12 rebounds.

“It’s always disappointing when you lose, said Rutgers head coach Fred Hill. “We are crawling and building and putting people on the floor. We have young guys out there, and we are trying to get them better. I don’t look at it as a step back. We didn’t play well and we didn’t shoot well…We’re certainly not a polished, efficient team yet.  We’ve had moments on the offensive end and we’ve had moments on the defensive end.”

Playing their fourth consecutive game with a different starting lineup, the Scarlet Knights were unable to find their rhythm and shot a season-low 34.8 percent (16-46) from the field. RU was also without the services of senior forward JR Inman (Pomona, N.Y.), who missed the contest due a sprained ankle sustained versus Rider.

The first half was largely a back-and-forth affair, featuring five lead changes and four ties. Rutgers’ held a 12-11 lead after a Jaron Griffin (Manchester, N.J.) three-pointer at 12:17, before later closing the gap to one point (24-23) after a pair of Anthony Farmer (Millville, N.J.) free throws with 0:17 remaining before the break. After the intermission, however, the Scarlet Knights were unable to sway the score in their favor.  An Echenique free throw reduced the deficit to three points (37-34) with 12:04 remaining, but the home squad would get no closer.

The Scarlet Knights shot a respectable 69 percent (20-29) from the free throw line, but also struggled at key moments. RU misses on the front end of four one-and-one opportunities. Rosario was a perfect four-of-four from the charity stripe, while sophomore Corey Chandler (Newark, N.J.) made five-of-six attempts.

Binghamton, which was limited to 38.5 percent (20-52) shooting, was led in the scoring column by D.J. Rivera, who had 23 points. Three Bearcats scored in double figures.

The Scarlet Knights return to the hardwood this Wednesday (Dec. 10) at Princeton. Tip-off is slated for 7:00 p.m.

POSTGAME NOTES

Echenique on the Glass

Freshman forward Gregory Echenique (Guatire, Venezuela) finished the game with 12 rebounds on Saturday. He has posted double-digit rebounds in three games this season. Echenique previously had a career-best 15 rebounds in his first collegiate game against Marist and pulled down 14 boards against St. Bonaventure. 

Freshmen Leading The Knights

Freshman guard Mike Rosario (Jersey City, N.J.) finished the game with a team-high 14 points. He has led the Scarlet Knights or tied for the team lead in scoring in five of RU’s eight games.

Meanwhile, freshman Gregory Echenique (Guatire, Venezuela) finished with a game-high 12 rebounds. In eight games this season, the first-year forward has led the Scarlet Knights or shared the lead on the boards in six contests. Of the 12 total rebounds for Echenique, nine were on the defense end, which tied his career-best in the category.

Controlling The Glass

Rutgers out-rebounded Binghamton, 42-29, in the contest. RU has held the edge in rebounding in five of eight games while matching its opponents’ rebounding total in another. 

Defense

The Rutgers defense held Binghamton to just three points (a three-pointer in the final seconds) in the final 3:29 of the opening half. The Scarlet Knights limited the Bearcats to 27 first-half points. On the season, RU has limited its opponent to 27 points or less in four of eight games. 

Charity Stripe Success

Rutgers converted 20 free throws (out of 29 attempts) against Binghamton. It tied their second-most free throws made in a game this season, three shy of the Scarlet Knights season-high 23 free throws made at Delaware Nov. 16.

Block Party

Junior center Hamady Ndiaye (Dakar, Senegal) blocked a game-high four shots against Binghamton. The center, who ranks among the top shot blockers in the nation, has swatted at least four shots in five of eight games this season. He has 37 on the year.  

Chandler On the Boards

Sophomore guard Corey Chandler (Newark, N.J.) tied his season-high with six rebounds against Binghamton. He previously achieved the feat at Delaware on Nov. 16. The six rebounds are two shy of his career high.

New Lineup For Knights

Rutgers has had four different starting lineups in eight games this season. In the Binghamton contest, the starting lineup consisted of Gregory Echenique (Guatire, Venezuela), Hamady Ndiaye (Dakar, Senegal), Earl Pettis (Philadelphia, Pa.), Mike Coburn (Mt. Vernon, N.Y.) and Mike Rosario (Jersey City, N.J.).

Rosario is the only Scarlet Knight to start all eight games this season, while Echenique, Ndiaye and Pettis have each started seven contests. Coburn was inserted into the starting lineup against St. Peter’s on Nov. 30 and has started each of the last three games.

POSTGAME QUOTES

Rutgers head coach Fred Hill…

“We didn’t make shots. It’s that simple. Mike (Rosario) has been doing a great job of knocking down shots and, just like the other night, you put a box-and-one on a guy - some people call it a diamond and a chaser - some people stay at home, but other guys have to step up to get shots. I thought Mike got some real good looks and a couple just didn’t go down, but other guys didn’t step up tonight and knock down a shot.”

“When you see zone, we went inside, but we didn’t score inside, and we turned the ball over. So, you either got to go score inside and play inside out - which is what we want to do and what we did, or you got to knock down shots when you get them. On the defensive end, it’s very difficult for us right now to play against smaller, quicker teams.”

“We basically have two post players out there on the defensive end, when we see smaller quicker teams, we can usually sub in JR Inman, but he is out with a sprained ankle, and he is day to day. We thought that we would have him today but he didn’t respond well enough to the treatment, and that’s what we had to play so much zone. You got a big line up out there, you can’t play man to man against a smaller quick team and their four guards out on the floor.”

“It was a game that had a lot of zone, you’re not going to have as many possessions…Certainly, we had 23 turnovers, if you don’t turn the ball over 23 times, you get more shot opportunities.”

“We were trying to go inside. No, I’m not happy when we throw the ball inside and we throw the ball in the block and we don’t score and turn the ball over. I’m not happy with that.  But our guys did a great job, and our guards did a great job going inside out, we threw the ball into our big guys, they need to score for us. We had eight turnovers in the paint, so no I’m not happy with the turnovers and I’m not happy with the guard turnovers in the open floor out in transition. So I’m not happy with those things, and we that’s where we have to get better.  We have to value the possession of the basketball, whether it’s inside, outside, you can’t have 23 turnovers and win basketball games.”

“It’s always disappointing when you lose.  We’re crawling and building and putting people on the floor. We have young guys out there and we are trying to get them better. I don’t look at it as a step back. We didn’t play well we didn’t shoot well.  I think we saw, we get that a lot of time, with young people your going to be up and down. We’re certainly not a polished, efficient team yet.  We’ve had moments on the offensive end and we’ve had moments on the defensive end.”

Head Coach Kevin Broadaus

Opening Statement: “We got blessed and lucky today to be honest with you. Coach Hill has assembled a really good team and they are young. Gregory (Echenique) is going to be a great player in the BIG EAST. I was an assistant at Georgetown for three years and I have seen guys like him come in and really turn programs around. Mike Rosario, McDonald’s All-American, is really going to a force in this league. We caught them on an off-day. I am not going to be fooled and sit here and say, this that or another. That team is going to be good at some point in the BIG EAST. He has done a marvelous job at assembling some good players. We just got lucky today. We played hard for 40 minutes and we were blessed to come out on winning side. They out-rebounded us. The biggest tale of the tape was that they turned the ball over more than we did today. We were a negative one and they were a negative 13 and that was the ball game. For the most part, our defense was pretty good. For 40 minutes, these guys guarded and I told these guys Rosario is able to get 20 shots. He got 11 shots and we tried to take him out of his game. These guys (next to me) preserved today and we came out victorious.”

On beating a BIG EAST team on the road: “It’s a great feeling. I am so tired and I can’t even celebrate like these guys. It feels like I played for 40 minutes. It’s a great stepping stone for us. Like I told these guys now, I am going to let them enjoy it today. But, right now my mind is not slipping up on Tuesday night when we go to Bucknell to not go and get too high b/c in this business, you get too high you get knocked right off the rollercoaster. And of course, not get too low. We just want to stay afloat straight and narrow path. It’s a big win for us, to beat a BIG EAST team. I am pretty sure as you saw we had a lot of fans here. The support system up there is great. The people at Binghamton have really shown they care about basketball and they have given us a lot of support. I take my hat off to the guys in the back (of the room). It was an all-around great day for us, and beating a BIG EAST team helps.”

Game plan and zone defense: “Defend Mike (Rosario) was one thing. We thought they would throw the ball in a lot. We were way over-matched with size. WE thought we could shorten the game by playing zone. When they play fast they are good and we tried to slow the game up in the zone. We tried to limit Mike’s touches. In the BIG EAST when you have a go-to guy you go to him. And we slowed that process up by limiting him to 11 shots. The zone worked in the sense of them making shots but it worked against us because we got out-rebounded. These guys were in tune today to where the shooters were and how to stop the penetration. Sometimes as a coach, I remember talking to Coach Thompson at Georgetown and he says sometimes you have to go what you don’t want to do (zone) if it benefits your team. With the speed and quickness, at times you can use the zone to your advantage and it showed tonight because we got to loose balls.”