PISCATAWAY, N.J. – Gregory Echenique (Guatire, Venezuela) scored a career-high 21 points and grabbed 11 rebounds to help Rutgers (4-2) to a 58-44 win over Princeton (2-4) Thursday evening at the RAC. The sophomore center shot 5-of-8 from the field, 11-of-12 from the free throw line, and added three blocks to record his third double-double of the season and the eighth of his career.

“We talk about it all the time, that he has that capability,” said head coach Fred Hill. “He has to come and bring the passion, enthusiasm and the toughness. He got off to a slow start in the first half. We went inside to him and he dropped a couple. He made up his mind at halftime that he was going to be aggressive. He was much more active and he was a monster…he was a monster.”

“He’s a load,” added Princeton head coach Sydney Johnson. “He works really hard and he was especially frustrating tonight because he made 11 free throws. I don’t know if he gets enough credit for how hard he works and how he keeps coming at you.”

Echenique, who scored 17 of his points in the second half, was joined in double figures by junior forward Jonathan Mitchell (Mount Vernon, N.Y.), who added 11 points on 5-of-7 shooting.

The Rutgers defense throttled the Tigers, limiting the visitors to 28.8 percent (15-52) shooting. The Scarlet Knights also out-rebounded their foe by a 41-13 margin and issued nine blocks, including four rejections by senior center Hamady Ndiaye (Dakar, Senegal). Freshman Dane Miller (Henrietta, N.Y.) grabbed a career-high seven rebounds to bolster the home squad on the boards.

Princeton jumped out to 6-4 lead early, but a Mike Rosario (Jersey City, N.J.) three-pointer with 13:14 remaining before the break provided Rutgers an advantage it would not relinquish. The Scarlet Knights extended its lead to 13 points before entering the locker room at the midpoint with a 29-18 advantage.

Princeton scored the initial seven points out of the gate in the second half to reduce the lead to four points (29-25) with 15:05 on the clock. RU responded with a 13-4 run, capped by an Echenique three-point play, to extinguish the threat. The Scarlet Knights built their lead to 19 points (56-37), before the Tigers scored seven of the evening’s last nine points to register the 58-44 final score.

Rutgers returns to the hardwood this Sunday (Nov. 6) afternoon to host Colgate in a 2:00 p.m. tip-off at the RAC.

POSTGAME NOTES

• Gregory Echenique tallied the eighth double-double of his career and third of this season with a career-high 21 points and 11 rebounds. The six-foot-nine center opened the season with back-to-back double-doubles against Marist (13 pts, 10 rbs) and Drexel (16 pts, 14 rbs).
• Echenique started the season 3-12 from the free throw line but has made 20 of 22 since, including an 11-12 performance against Princeton.
• Echenique’s three blocks increases his career total to 92, which moves him 12 place on the school’s career blocks list. He owns 17 games with three-plus rejections, including three this season.
• After entering the game shooting 59.6 percent (68-114) from the free throw line this season, the Scarlet Knights connected on their first 10 shots from the charity stripe and finished 20-23. RU’s 87 percent mark from the  free throw line against Princeton is the best the Scarlet Knights have shot since they hit seven of eight (87.5 percent) at Georgetown on Feb. 3, 2009.
• RU’s starting lineup against Princeton of Mike Coburn, Mike Rosario, Patrick Jackson, Jonathan Mitchell and Echenique have started all six games for Rutgers this season.
• Hamady Ndiaye’s four blocks marks the 39th time in his career that he has tallied three-plus deflections. The BIG EAST’s top shot blocker has swatted three-plus blocks each game this season and has collected 26 blocks in just 95 minutes of play. Ndiaye entered the game ranked third nationally in blocks and fourth nationally in career blocks.
• Rutgers limited Princeton to 28.8 percent (15-52) shooting, marking the second time this season that RU has held an opponent to under 30 percent shooting at home. Drexel shot 26.6 percent (17-64) in RU’s 58-56 win over the Dragons at the RAC on Nov. 20.
• Rutgers limited Princeton to a 20.8 field goal percentage (5-24) in the first half, which is the third lowest shooting percentage an opponent has had against RU in a half during head coach Fred Hill’s tenure. The two lowest shooting percentages an opponent has had against a Fred Hill-led squad happened on Nov. 30 2008 in the first half against St. Peters (4-31, 12. 9 percent) and on Dec. 20, 2008 in the second half against Bryant (5-27, .185).
• Mitchell’s 11 points marks the third time that the redshirt junior has scored in double digits as a Scarlet Knight.
• Princeton’s 44 points in the lowest an opponent has scored against Rutgers since USF tallied 42 in the last year’s regular season finale on March 7, 2009, a 45-42 RU victory.
• Dane Miller’s seven rebounds marked a career high.
• The 14 point win over Princeton marked just the fifth time since 1917 (in 116 meetings) that RU had defeated the Tigers by 14 or more points.

RUTGERS HEAD COACH FRED HILL

On Gregory Echenique’s performance:
“We talk about it all the time, that he has that capability. He has to come and bring the passion, enthusiasm and the toughness. He got off to a slow start in the first half. We went inside to him and he dropped a couple. He made up his mind at halftime that he was going to be aggressive. He was much more active and he was a monster…he was a monster. Between him and H (Hamady Ndiaye) they had 25 points, seven blocks and 12 rebounds. That is a pretty good night for your two centers.”

On why Rutgers-Princeton games tend to be “ugly and low scoring”:
“I thought it was a thing of beauty, but beauty is in the eye of the beholder. It is the way they play. They do it to everybody. It isn’t going to be a thing of artistic beauty. I think you have to give our kids credit with the way they defended tonight.”

On Hamady Ndiaye providing a spark off the bench:
“H gives us great energy. He does some great things. He is our leader and captain. He is an emotional guy. He blocks shots. He is one of leading shot blockers in the country and he isn’t averaging 20 minutes a game. He is playing less than a half each game and he is one of the leading shot blockers in the country. It says an awful lot about him and the passion and energy he plays with. He has gotten better and better over the years.”

RUTGERS CENTER GREGORY ECHENIQUE

On his performance:
“It is a good feeling. I know the last few games, particularly the last one (against Florida), I didn’t really help my team like I am supposed to. I am going to try and work harder this week and practice harder to make sure when I step out on the court that I help my team because that is what I am here for.”

On going 11-12 from the free throw line:
“I was glad I was making free throws. With my family, when my dad calls me (after games) he is always upset if I don’t make free throws. He thinks as a big guy it is a gift and that you should make them. Hopefully it continues.”    

PRINCETON HEAD COACH SYDNEY JOHNSON

On the Tigers inability to find an offensive rhythm in the first half:
“I can’t explain it. I thought we did a much better job of running our stuff and getting good shots. I know our big guys had a little bit of trouble getting going, but overall I liked our focus better than the last time out. Rutgers did a great job of preparing for us. We were able to get good looks but just didn’t make them.”

On the performance of Rutgers sophomore center Gregory Echenique:
“He’s a load. He works really hard and he was especially frustrating tonight because he made 11 free throws. I don’t know if he gets enough credit for how hard he works and how he keeps coming at you.”

On the game holding true to the low-scoring precedents set by past Princeton-Rutgers games:
“I think there is a familiarity there. It is like a conference game. These two teams know each other so well. You have to get to that third or fourth option to score. The scouting reports are so much better. The staffs know each other very well. You just have to grind it out and I think Rutgers did a little bit better job of that tonight.”