Rutgers University
DePaul
Rutgers Drops Home Contest to DePaul 69-64
Jan 25 | Men's Basketball
PISCATAWAY, N.J. – Freshman point guard Myles Mack (Paterson, N.J.) shot 8-of-14, including 5-of-9 from behind the arc to score a career-high tying 22 points, but it was not enough as Rutgers (11-10, 3-5) dropped a 69-64 decision to DePaul (11-9, 2-6) Wednesday evening at the RAC. The Scarlet Knights led by as many as 11 points in the second half, but a 16-4 run by the Blue Demons enabled the visitors to escape with the victory.
DePaul shot 56 percent after the break, while committing just five turnovers, and scored seven of the game’s final nine points.
RU rookie guard Jerome Seagears (Silver Spring, Md.) made 6-of-12 field goal en route to 14 points to join Mack in double figures. Twelve of his points came in the opening half, while Mack posted 14 of his points after intermission.
The contest featured 12 lead changes and nine ties. Scarlet Knights entered the locker room at the midpoint with a 29-24 advantage.
DePaul freshman Jamee Crockett scored 17 of his career-high 20 points after intermission to spark the Blue Demon rally. He deposited back-to-back three pointers to provide the visitors a 55-54 lead, their first of the second half, with less than five minutes remaining.
Sophomore forward Gilvydas Biruta (Jonava, Lithuania) and junior wing Dane Miller (Rochester, N.Y.) both grabbed seven boards to pace the home squad in the rebounding column. Biruta also shot 3-of-6 to score nine points, while Miller added three blocked shots.
Rutgers returns to the hardwood to host Cincinnati in a 6 p.m. tip-off at the RAC this Saturday (Jan. 28) evening. The game will be televised live on SNY and will also be available via the web at WatchESPN.com.
POSTGAME NOTES
- Prior to the game, Rutgers basketball honored ‘Jersey Hero’ Justin Sasso, a retired 10-year veteran who served two tours of foreign duty in Iraq. Currently a 4.0 student, Sasso was a Blackhawk pilot during his time overseas.
- Myles Mack tied his career high with 22 points. He hit the 20-point plateau for the third time in his career and first since Stony Brook (Dec. 17). He posted double-digits for the 11th time this season.
- RU falls to 5-3 in the all-time series with DePaul, previously winning five-straight in the series. The Scarlet Knights are 2-2 at home vs. the Blue Demons.
- Mack led the team in scoring for the fifth time this season. Mack or Eli Carter have paced RU over the last 15 games.
- Mack tied his career high with five rebounds.
- Jerome Seagears scored in double-figures for the seventh time in his career and second in the last three games with 14 points. The freshman scored 12 points in the first half, the first time in his career he has put in 10-plus.
- The Scarlet Knights drop to 4-8 when less than three players post double-digits.
- Dane Miller and Gilvydas Biruta each grabbed seven rebounds. Combined, the two have paced RU in boards 15 times this season.
- Biruta tied his career high with three assists.
- In the first half, Rutgers assisted on 11 of 12 baskets.
- RU has forced 16 of 21 opponents into 15-plus turnovers (15 vs. DePaul).
- Austin Johnson broke his career high with three assists.
- Of the nine Scarlet Knights that saw action, eight scored a basket
POSTGAME QUOTES
Rutgers head coach Mike Rice
Opening Statement: “We struggled with getting in our own way a lot of the night, whether it was not having solid possession of the basketball. But still, you’re up 11 points, DePaul never went away. Our guys were surprised how DePaul came back and continued to play hard and move the ball and execute. Then, when they made a couple shots, our guys got sad and wanted to go away instead of fight back and fight through it. It was a very disappointing last eight minutes in the game. It’s something this young, immature, inconsistent team needs to learn from. Not many positives came out of this night.”
On whether the Georgetown loss affected tonight’s performance: “Maybe (there was a hangover). There are a lot of things that could have happened. But again, this team’s mentality has to change. They have to listen better and I have to find a better way of getting through to them. We have no flow on offense right now. The ball is sticking in people’s hands and so we have to remedy that. We have to figure it out and get better at it. Defensively, it seems that whenever we made a mistake, Crockett would find space and find a way to get three points.”
On Crockett’s play tonight: “It’s DePaul. You know somebody has the ability to step up and go on a run like that. We just missed so many layups. Simple possessions of basketball, whether it’s free throws, finishing layups, it was just a very poor performance for Rutgers.”
On the team’s inconsistency: “A night where I wanted to scream at all of them, and I had a right to scream at all of them because there was no composure. There was no mental toughness. And so it’s disappointing. Again, this is what the weakness of this team is, a lack of maturity and mental toughness. Give DePaul credit for not stopping. They just kept coming and apparently our guys stopped after the 30 minute mark.”
DePaul Head Coach Oliver Purnell
Opening Statement: “It was a big win for us and hopefully it proves to be a shot in the arm. It wasn’t pretty…We can ask ourselves what the issue or problem is, but what we needed most was a win for our confidence. Guys were playing harder, struggling early offensively turning the ball over and our decision making wasn’t great, but guys were still guarding and defending the ball. That is something you need to do in this league, guard and rebound the ball. We did that tonight and that kept us close so we could get our stride. Generally speaking – minus the last game – we usually do get a spurt. [Jamee] Crockett provided most of it tonight with some hot three-point shooting. We stayed within striking distance and didn’t let ourselves get down. Because we kept grinding, we were able to take advantage of his hot shooting and our guys did a great job of taking care of the basketball once we got the lead and made free throws.”
On making plays offensively: “We had so many big plays, I thought they all were big. Our ability to take care of the ball and not turn it over and get shots was key. If you watched us in the first 10 minutes of the first half and the last 10 minutes of the second half, you would have thought it was a different team offensively. Because we defended and rebounded throughout, it put us in position at the end of the game to improve our offensive play.”
