Rutgers University
Massachusetts
Rutgers Downs UMass 83-75 in Legends Classic Championship Round
Nov 27 | Men's Basketball
ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (November 27, 2009) - The Rutgers men’s basketball team dominated the first half and fought off a strong second-half effort from Massachusetts to come away with a 83-75 win Friday evening in the opening game of the 2009 Legends Classic Championship Round at Boardwalk Hall. Five Scarlet Knights posted double figures, including sophomore guard Mike Rosario (Jersey City, N.J.), who shot nine-of-15 to score a game-high 22 points.
Rosario tied his season-high in points, which including 18 in the first half. Hamady Ndiaye (Dakar, Senegal), Mike Coburn (Mount Vernon, N.Y.), Gregory Echenique (Guatire, Venezuela) and Jonathan Mitchell (Mount Vernon, N.Y.) all scored 10-plus points. Ndiaye registered 14 and Coburn 13, while Echenique and Mitchell each contributed 10 points.
Rosario also led the team in rebounds for only the second time in his RU tenure with seven, tying a career high.
Rosario scored RU’s first 10 points on 4-5 shooting, including 2-3 from beyond the arc. With RU leading 12-6, UMass went on an 8-0 run, highlighted by two treys from Freddie Riley, to take its first lead of the game, 14-12, at the 14:21 mark.
The Minutemen would go scoreless for nearly six minutes as the Scarlet Knights scored the next 13 points and went on 18-1 run to storm to 30-15 advantage. UMass closed the gap to 30-20 but back-to-back treys from Rosario put Rutgers ahead 36-22. The Minutemen never got within more than 11 points the rest of the first half, as RU went into the locker room at the midpoint with a 46-35 lead.
Rutgers limited All-Atlantic 10 Conference First-Team selection Ricky Harris to two points in the first half.
Rosario hit a jumper from the left side in the first minute of the second half to reach 20 points for the 12th time as a Scarlet Knight.
With Rutgers going ahead by its largest lead of the season at 60-41, Harris led a UMass resurgence.
With the Minutemen beginning to crawl back in the game, David Gibbs hit a trey from the left corner to cut RU’s advantage to single digits, 75-68, for the first times since the 10:09 mark in the first half.
Rutgers drove down the court and with a toss from Mitchell, Ndiaye slammed a thunderous dunk over Sean Carter to extend RU’s lead to 77-68.
The Minutemen hit back-to-back jumpers to cut Rutgers’ lead to 77-72 with 3:31 remaining.
Coburn nailed a 15-footer from the right side giving Rutgers a 79-72 lead at the 2:41 mark.
UMass quickly responded with a three from Harris at the top of the key, trimming RU’s lead to 79-75 with 1:31 to go in the game.
UMass wouldn’t score another basket, however, as Rutgers capped off the victory with five points from the charity stripe to ensure the 83-75 win.
The Scarlet Knights return to the hardwood tomorrow (Saturday) evening versus Florida, who defeated No. 2 Michigan state in the other semi-final contest.. The game will tip-off at 8:00 p.m. and will be televised live on HDNet.
POST GAME NOTES
• Rutgers’ 83 points marked its highest scoring output since the Scarlet Knights posted 85 in an 85-77 win at Delaware on Nov. 16, 2008.
• For the fourth straight game, at least three Scarlet Knights scored in double digits with Mike Rosario (22), Hamady Ndiaye (14), Mike Coburn (13), Jonathan Mitchell (10), and Gregory Echenique (10) posting 10-plus points versus the Minutemen.
• Five Scarlet Knights scored in double-digits for the first time since five RU players tallied 10-plus in Rutgers’ upset win at No. 13 Pittsburgh on Jan. 26, 2008.
• Rutgers now owns a 28-20 advantage in the all-time series with UMass and is 180-167 all-time against Atlantic 10 squads.
• Rutgers had its finest shooting night of the season with season bests of 55.8 field goal percentage, 57.1 three point percentage and a 70.8 free throw percentage.
• The Scarlet Knights’ 57.1 three point percentage is the best RU has shot from behind the arc since it shot 64.3 in Rutgers’ upset win at No. 13 Pittsburgh on Jan. 26, 2008.
• RU’s 55.8 field goal percentage is the best the squad has shot since hitting a 58.3 percentage against NJIT on Dec. 23, 2008.
• RU’s 46 first-half points is the most the Scarlet Knights have scored in one period since its 48 second-half points against No.18/No.15 Marquette on Jan. 7, 2009.
• Rutgers’ 46-35 halftime lead is the largest advantage the Scarlet Knights have had at the midway point since it led NJIT 44-23 at intermission on Dec. 23, 2008.
• Rosario’s 22 points tied a season-high and marks the 32nd time in his 36 games at Rutgers that he has scored in double digits and the 12th time he has tallied 20-plus. The six-foot-three guard has led RU in scoring in 23 of his 36 career games as a Scarlet Knight. He has notched at least 12 points in eight straight non-conference games.
• Rosario’s seven rebounds mark the second time in his career that he has led the team in boards.
• Coburn’s 13 points marks the third straight game he has scored in double-digits. The six-foot guard now owns 15 career games with 10-plus points.
• Coburn tied his career high in assists (7) and steals (3). Coburn has dished five-plus assists in three games this season and six times during his career.
• Ndiaye’s 14 points is a season high and he now owns five career games with 10-plus points.
• Ndiaye slammed five dunks against the Minutemen.
• Echenique’s 10 points gives him 17 career games with double digit points.
• Echenique fouled out for only the second time in his career. The six-foot-nine center tallied five fouls for the first time at North Carolina on Dec. 28, 2008.
• Mitchell’s 10 points gives him double digits points for the second straight game.
• Dane Miller’s seven points tied a career high.
Rutgers Head Coach Fred Hill Post-Game Quotes
“I just think it was a good bounce-back win for us. We did the same thing tonight that we did the other day. We lost our composure for about a five or six minute stretch…Tonight, we were able to re-gain our composure and make big plays down the stretch to win the game. I though UMass did a very good job of making the game hectic in the second half. It really went away from what got us the lead. We were really running and executing extremely well and then we just ‘went out and played.’ I think what we learned is that if we play more disciplined, we have a chance to be a pretty good club.”
“Mike Rosario in the first half was awesome. In the second half they took us out of what we wanted to run a little bit. We stopped running the way we wanted to run, which limited his touches. But other guys stepped up and made big plays and that’s a sign of a good team.”
“I am very happy for H (Hamady Ndiaye), coming off an injury, responding and giving us 23 really good minutes. To be honest, it’s what I expect out of him. He’s a senior, he’s our leader and he’s our co-captain with Jonathan Mitchell…The guys have a lot faith and confidence in him and I have all faith and confidence in him. That’s what you expect a senior to do. We’re a team with not a lot of experience in terms of minutes. I expect H and Mike and Gregory – they have the most experience – to step and make big plays when it counts.”
