Scarlet Knights Defeat RU-Newark 80-66 in Exhibition Action
Nov 06 | Men's Basketball
PISCATAWAY, N.J. (November 6, 2011) – Freshman guard Eli Carter (Willingboro, N.J.) scored 18 points and rookie wing Malick Kone (Conakry, Guinea) added 15 points and eight rebounds to help Rutgers University to an 80-66 exhibition victory over Rutgers-Newark Sunday afternoon at the Rutgers Athletic Center. The Scarlet Knights shot 48.4 percent (30-62), including 60 percent in the second half, and out-rebounded the Scarlet Raiders by a 46-33 margin to earn the victory.
“There are some things to work with,” said Rutgers head coach Mike Rice. “I like the effort, it’s just the details and some of the discipline on possession-by-possession that can make you scratch your head.
“(The freshmen guards) got off the ball really well today. They can make plays and they’re learning and developing…I thought that they had a little bit more poise to them this game. At times, whether it’s fatigue of a bad shot, they let things affect them and how they play. As a whole you can see why I’m excited about these three and the development and the future of Rutgers basketball.”
Carter made seven-of-15 field goals, including four-of-six from behind the arc. Kone shot six-of-10.
Freshman point guard Myles Mack (Paterson, N.J.) and sophomore forward Gilvydas Biruta (Jonava, Lithuania) also registered double figure scoring totals for the home squad. Mack posted 13 points on three-of-six shooting, while Biruta had 11 points on five-of-six field goals with seven rebounds.
Jerome Seagears (Silver Spring, Md.), part of the highly-touted rookie guard trio along with Carter and Mack, had six points, six rebounds and four assists in 23 minutes. Mack also had four helpers.
The Scarlet Knights limited the visitors to 34.5 percent (20-58) shooting, and just a 21.5 percent mark in the opening half.
RU-Newark scored the contest’s first points, but the Scarlet Knights responded with a five point run and never looked back. The home squad led 35-21 at halftime before establishing its largest advantage of 24 points (64-40) with under six minutes remaining.
RU-Newark was led in the scoring column by Pedro Burgos, who scored a game-high 26 points on eight-of-22 shooting.
The Scarlet Knights open the regular season Friday (Nov. 11) evening versus Ivy League foe Dartmouth at 7:30 at the RAC. The game will be televised live via the web by RVision presented by AT&T.
Mike Rice Post-Game Quotes
Game Thoughts:
“A lack of consistency which you will find with a young team. There are some things to work with. I like the effort, it’s just the details and some of the discipline on possession-by-possession that can make you scratch your head.”
On the play of Rutgers-Newark:
“I loved their game plan. They really had four guys sagging in the paint. Their undersized post did a tremendous job fighting and pushing our “bigs” off the block.”
“I’m very appreciative of Rutgers-Newark giving it everything they had and giving us everything that we can handle.”
On the play of the three freshman guards:
“They really got off the ball really well today. They can make plays and they’re learning and developing…I thought that they had a little bit more poise to them this game. At times, whether it’s fatigue of a bad shot, they let things affect them and how they play. As a whole you can see why I’m excited about these three and the development and the future of Rutgers basketball.”
On the play of Malick Kone # 24:
“He has tremendous skills. Malick can shift between (positions). He was our leading rebounder. He’s a tremendous athlete.”
On the play Gilvydas Biruta # 55:
“Very encouraging. His ability to go off the bounce is something he had last year, but he wasn’t poised enough to finish because he always rushed through things. He’s a tremendous ball handler, but it’s now just having the confidence to finish. We have to get him more shot attempts.”
