PISCATAWAY, N.J. – Freshman forward Gilvydas Biruta (Jonava, Lithuania) shot six-of-eight to score a career-high 20 points in helping Rutgers (4-2) to a 66-54 win over NJIT (1-4) Wednesday evening at the Louis Brown Athletic Center. Senior forward Jonathan Mitchell (Mount Vernon, N.Y.) had his fifth career double-double with 13 points and 11 rebounds as the Scarlet Knights led from start to finish.

Senior guard Mike Coburn (Mount Vernon, N.Y.) continued to log quality time for RU. He shot five-of-seven to post 13 points with four steals in 36 minutes of action.

Biruta made seven-of-nine from the charity stripe to supplement his performance. The Scarlet Knights, after struggling in previous games from the foul line, made 20 of 25 free throws.

Rutgers jumped-out to an 18-8 lead at the 12:35 mark of the opening half. The feisty Highlanders, however, would not relent. NJIT drew to within one point, 23-22, before a six-point run comprised of four Coburn points padded the edge. The visitors sank a three-ball for the final points of the opening half and RU entered the locker room at the midpoint holding a slim, 33-30, advantage.

The Scarlet Knights maintained a steady lead for much of the second stanza, but NJIT remained within striking distance. An 8-0 burst, capped by a Mike Poole (Rosedale, N.Y.) tip-in with 4:59 on the clock, provided RU a 57-45 advantage and placed the outcome squarely in the home squad’s favor. Rutgers built its lead to 14 points on two occasions before securing the 12-point victory.

RU shot 45.8 percent (22-48) on the evening, including 50 percent (10-20) in the second half. Sophomore forward Austin Johnson (Elkins Park, Pa.), who entered the contest as the BIG EAST leader in field goal percentage, deposited three-of-four shots to assist the effort. NJIT made 40.4 percent (21-52) of its attempts from the field. The Scarlet Knights also out-rebounded the Highlanders by a 33-28 margin.

Rutgers returns to the hardwood Tuesday (Dec. 7) evening to host Marist in a 7:30 p.m. tip-off at the RAC.

Postgame Notes

• Jonathan Mitchell notched his fifth career double-double with 13 points and 11 rebounds. It is the first time this season a Scarlet Knight has tallied double-digit rebounds.
• For the third-straight game, Biruta scored in double-figures with 20 points. It was the first time he has notched 10-plus in the first half and the third-straight contest he has beaten his career high. It was the first time he has led the team in scoring and the first time a Scarlet Knight has recorded a 20-plus game this season. 
• The Scarlet Knights move to 4-0 at home this season. RU has won 11-straight home nonconference games.
• Rutgers led wire-to-wire for the first time this season and for the first time since Saint Peter’s on Dec. 22, 2009.  
• Rutgers dominated the second chance opportunities, scoring 17 points off nine offensive boards. NJIT did not score a second chance point.
• RU moves to 4-0 all-time against NJIT. Rutgers is 13-7 all-time on Dec. 1.
• Biruta led the Scarlet Knights to an 8-2 run to start the game, shooting 3-for-3 from the floor and notching all eight points. Austin Johnson led the next 10-2 run (15:50-12:35), scoring six points on 3-for-3 from the field.
• This was the third time three players have scored in double-figures. RU is 2-1 when that happens.
• Mike Coburn matched his career high with four steals (at Princeton, Nov. 12). Mitchell matched his career high with three blocks (vs. Drexel, Nov. 20, 2009).  
• In all six games this season, RU has forced more turnovers than its opponent.
• This is the fifth time this season that RU has scored more points in the paint that its opponent (32-30).  
• RU notched season highs in free throws made (eight) and percentage (.889) in the first half. It also marked a season high FT made for the game (20) – the first time since NJIT (22-for-26) last season RU has made 20 from the charity stripe. 
• The two three pointers made marked a season low and the fewest since the Drexel game (2-for-7 from behind the arc) on Nov. 20, 2009. 
• Head coach Mike Rice went with the starting lineup of James Beatty, Mike Coburn, Dane Miller, Jonathan Mitchell and Gilvydas Biruta for the sixth-straight contest. The Scarlet Knights have started a freshman in 23-straight contests.

Postgame Quotes

RUTGERS HEAD COACH MIKE RICE

Game thoughts:

“Through an uninspiring performance came production from different places and growth from a forward that seemed to be struggling offensively. (Dane Miller) really picked our energy up and probably single-handedly helped us win the game in the last seven minutes on defense. Certainly, the other person (that stepped up was Gilvydas Biruta). I’m calling a set play for Gilvydas Biruta in the post with four minutes left. Should I have my head examined? Two games ago, he couldn’t catch the ball and now I’m calling (plays for him). Again, there is some growth and some positives to take away. One thing we have to learn from this is we are not good enough to just show up against any opponent on our schedule. We have to have that energy, that passion and play for one another. It certainly wasn’t there for 30 minutes.”

On Gilvydas Biruta:

“I think its confidence. He’s not really a post player and he’s finding out how to succeed in Division I, like a lot of freshman do. But a lot of freshmen only play 7-10 minutes and they get to find out in practice. Gilvydas gets to play 20-27 minutes and you see it right in front of you. You saw a confident young man and you saw a confident player who is developing”.

On if he’s a quick learner:

“He is. He gets frustrated with himself quickly, as you saw on two bad plays tonight. He went and just couldn’t control himself. One was a mental play and one was a missed layup where he tried to go and steal the ball. He is (a fast learner). He’s his worst critic at time. I have to calm him down on himself. Again, I’m very proud of the way he’s performing and what he’s doing for our team.”

On ball-handling:

“(NJIT) played very well. They had a very good game plan and instead of us becoming more disciplined and becoming more patient, we just dropped our head and tried to make a basket or an assist on every single play. We did not let our offense work for us tonight. We rushed everything.”

On back-door cuts and defensive breakdowns:

“What were the defensive breakdowns? Staring at the ball. Standing up away from the ball. No urgency or energy on the defensive side. From there, you can go into defensive breakdowns. I give them credit. Their pace and their energy seemed to surprise our guys. That is on me and my staff. We have to make sure we prepare them better. For some reason, our guys didn’t respect NJIT at the beginning and that is on us.”

On winning the game without James Beatty scoring:

“I don’t want to have to do it again, but it is nice. Am I pleased with this performance? No, of course not. But there was some positives. There was some adversity that we had overcome. Certain individuals did step up. Dane Miller, defensively, I think won the game for us and Gilvydas and Jonathan Mitchell stepped up at the end.”  

NJIT HEAD COACH JIM ENGLES:

Game thoughts:

“I told our kids it’s easy to go from one to ten wins, it’s difficult to go from ten plus wins.  There are a lot of teams that win ten games and we just need to continue to do the little things that need to be done to continue to improve.   We had great practice yesterday and they’re great kids who really want to do the right things.  I have six new guys that I’m trying to implement into the rotation, so it’s going to take time with those guys.  We gave a solid effort and we need to execute better to really have a chance to get a win tonight.   I’m very happy with our progress as a program, I’m very happy with our progress from a developmental standpoint.  It might not show up in our record right now, but we’re way better than our record shows. “