Rutgers University
Cincinnati
Rutgers Suffers BIG EAST Road Defeat at Cincinnati
Jan 14 | Men's Basketball
CINCINNATI, Ohio – Four Scarlet Knights scored in double-figures, but it was not enough as Cincinnati (11-6, 1-3 BIG EAST) defeated Rutgers (9-9, 0-5 BIG EAST), 71-59, Wednesday night at the Fifth Third Arena. Senior Anthony Farmer (Millville, N.J.) led the way with 12 points on six-of-eight shooting.
Freshman Mike Rosario (Jersey City, N.J.) finished with 11 points, marking the ninth consecutive game he has scored in double-figures. Senior JR Inman (Pomona, N.Y.) also posted 11 points while sophomore Mike Coburn (Mt. Vernon, N.Y.) scored 10, his first double-digit scoring game this season. Freshman Gregory Echenique (Guatire, Venezuela) set a new career-high with 12 defensive rebounds en route to a game-high 14 overall rebounds, one shy of his career-high.
The Scarlet Knights used solid offense and a stifling defense to build a 29-13 lead in the first half. Over an 8:25 stretch, RU went on a 19-0 run while holding Cincinnati without a single point. The Bearcats were able to mount a 16-7 run to end the opening stanza, and RU went into the locker room with a 36-29 halftime lead.
UC continued its hot offense in the second half, going on a 9-2 run to tie the game at 38 on a Deonta Vaughn three-pointer. The Bearcats’ Mike Williams then drained a jumper to give the Bearcats a lead they would not relinquish.
Cincinnati would build its lead to as many as 10 at 53-43 before RU mounted a run of its own, scoring five quick points. Vaughn came through again, draining another shot from downtown to give the home team an eight-point advantage with 8:21 to go. RU would bring the game within four at 56-52 on back-to-back jumpers by Coburn, but that would be as close as it would get, as Cincinnati held off the Scarlet Knights to win by 12.
Vaughn led the way for the home team with 24 points, eight rebounds and five assists as the Bearcats picked up their first conference victory. Williams contributed 20 points and six rebounds in the win.
Rutgers returns to the friendly confines of the RAC on Wednesday, Jan. 21, when No. 20/20 Louisville comes to Piscataway. Game time is set for 7:00 p.m. The contest will be televised live on ESPNU.
POSTGAME NOTES
Rutgers game against Cincinnati marked its first contest against an unranked opponent in five matches. RU last faced an unranked opponent on Dec. 23, when it defeated NJIT 78-52 at the RAC.
Senior Anthony Farmer (Millville, N.J.) finished with 12, freshman Mike Rosario (Jersey City, N.J.) and senior JR Inman (Pomona, N.Y.) each tallied 11 and sophomore Mike Coburn (Mt. Vernon, N.Y.) scored 10, marking the first time that four Scarlet Knights finished in double-figures since Dec. 28, when Rosario, Farmer, Inman and sophomore Corey Chandler (Newark, N.J.) accomplished the feat against No. 1 UNC.
Rutgers went on a 19-0 run in the first half, holding Cincinnati without a single point for 8:25 and without a field goal for 9:25.
Farmer now has 982 points for his career, moving past two players to stand in 38th-place on Rutgers’ all-time scoring list. He needs 18 points to become the 37th Scarlet Knight with 1,000 for his career, joining Inman.
Farmer shot 75 percent from the floor against the Bearcats (six-of-eight). In his last nine games, the senior is shooting 60 percent (39-of-65).
Inman now has 1,019 points for his career, moving past Andrew Kolbasovsky (1,015) into 35th-place on RU’s all-time scoring list.
Inman grabbed three rebounds against the Bearcats, giving him 622 for his career and moving him into a tie with Joel Normane for 17th-place on RU’s all-time rebounds list.
Junior center Hamady Ndiaye (Dakar, Senegal) blocked one shot against Cincinnati, giving him 200 rejections for his career. He becomes the fifth Scarlet Knights with at least 200 blocks.
Freshman Gregory Echenique (Guatire, Venezuela) grabbed 14 rebounds, one shy of his career-high of 15, set against Marist on Nov. 14. Echenique set a new career-high with 12 defensive rebounds; his previous high was nine, set three times, most recently against Binghamton on Dec. 6.
Rosario finished in double-figures for the 16th time this season and the ninth consecutive game.
Coburn finished in double-figures for the first time this season. His last game with at least 10 points was on Feb. 14, 2008, when he scored 10 at West Virginia.
