Rutgers University
Vanderbilt
Men's Basketball wins thriller over Vanderbilt
Nov 28 | Men's Basketball
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BROOKLYN, N.Y. (Nov. 28, 2014) -Behind outstanding performances from seniors Myles Mack and Kadeem Jack, Rutgers (3-2) downed Vanderbilt (4-1) 68-65 in the championship round of the Barclays Center Classic. Both played the full 40 minutes, with Mack leading Rutgers with 21 points, eight assists and five steals, while Jack added 20 points and a game-high eight rebounds in the victory.
The veteran duo was joined in double figures by freshman guard Mike Williams and sophomore forward Junior Etou, who contributed 11 and 10 points, respectively.
Mack's five thefts contributed to 14 Commodore turnovers. The Scarlet Knights, conversely, committed just eight miscues, which resulted in a 14-6 advantage in points-off-turnovers. RU also out-rebounded its SEC foe 38-32, with the Scarlet Knights grabbing 18 offensive boards. As a result, Rutgers benefitted 24-7 in second chance points.
Rutgers trailed 15-14 with 8:45 gone by in the opening stanza before starting a run. A slam dunk by Jack and a Williams' three-pointer sparked the 10-0 Scarlet Knight burst over a 4:36 span to push RU in front, 24-15. Rutgers established its biggest lead at 29-18, but the Commodores closed the first half strong, countering with a 13-2 run to tie the score at 31-31 after twenty minutes of action.
The second half would mirror the first, with each team trading blows. Vanderbilt jumped ahead 38-33, but the Scarlet Knights answered to retake the lead at 43-40, and again at 47-44. Jack's fourth dunk of the night gave Rutgers the advantage at 49-47, but again the Commodores countered, with an old fashioned three-point play and a three-pointer pushing them in front 55-52.
Head coach Eddie Jordan called a timeout, and Rutgers countered with a 7-0 spurt. Williams hit a jumper, Jack went strong to the hoop and converted a free throw for a three-point play, and then an Etou jumper gave Rutgers a 59-55 lead with five minutes to play. Jack and Greg Lewis would add points in the paint, and the Scarlet Knights entered the final media timeout with a 63-57 lead and 2:52 on the clock.
After the timeout, Lewis knocked down two free throws to extend the run to 13-2 before a Commodore three-pointer halted the momentum. Vandy used that momentum shift to claw back into the game, scoring eight unanswered points to tie the game at 65 with just over a minute remaining.
Down the final stretch, Rutgers outlasted Vanderbilt to earn the victory. Kadeem Jack hit a go-ahead layup with 42 seconds remaining, and the Scarlet Knights' defense held strong to clinch the win.
Rutgers advances into the Championship game of the Classic. The Scarlet Knights will play No. 8/7 Virginia at approximately 9:30 p.m. The contest will be televised live on the NBC Sports Network.
POSTGAME NOTES
- Mack had eight assists to move into seventh place all-time in Rutgers history. He now has 317 assists for his career. He moved past Mike Dabney, Craig Carter, Jeff Greer, Dane Miller and Steve Brown to vault from 13th place entering the game into 7th place overall.
- Mack scored in double figures for the 67th time in his career and 20-plus points for 16th time in career.
- Jack scored in double figures for the 34th time in his career and 20-plus points for the fifth time in his career.
- Mack and Jack played the full 40 minutes in the game for the first time in their careers. The last time Rutgers had a player log all 40 minutes in a regulation game was both Jonathan Mitchell and Mike Rosario, who played 40 minutes in a 76-60 loss at Louisville on Feb. 6, 2010. The last Rutgers players to play at least 40 minutes in a game were Eli Carter (46 minutes) and Dane Miller (42 minutes) in a double-overtime victory over Florida on Dec. 29, 2011.
- Rutgers had four players score in double figures for the first time this season. Mack had 21, Jack had 20, Williams had 11 and Etou had 10.
- It was the first time this season the Rutgers had two players score 20-plus points.
- It was Rutgers first win over a team from the SEC since Dec. 29, 2012, an 85-83 double-overtime victory over No. 19 Florida at the RAC. In that game Myles Mack scored 14 points.
- Kadeem Jack had a season high four dunks.
- Rutgers had a 24-7 advantage in second chance points and a 14-6 advantage in points off turnovers.
- The Rutgers starting lineup was guard Myles Mack, guard Bishop Daniels, forward Junior Etou, forward Kadeem Jack and center Greg Lewis for the third consecutive game.
- Bishop Daniels played two minutes before suffering an ankle injury, and did not return.
POSTGAME QUOTES
Rutgers Head Coach Eddie Jordan:
On the game: "That was just an overall gritty performance and gritty effort from us. These guys played a lot of minutes and had a lot of physicality out there. That was a good team that we had to play. They run a good offense and our defense was patient. Overall, we bounced back, we made big shots, big free throws, big plays, big stops and again we had the perseverance to withstand another run when they tied the score up and we came up with big plays again. Defensively I thought we were terrific for the most part and we rebounded the ball very well."
On his team's performance: "Everybody saw how hard we worked and how hard we played in the paint. We rebounded and guarded their offense, which is a really good offense…Our game plan was solid outside of the two lulls we had that we weren't happy with. That group that was out there; Greg (Lewis), along with Kadeem (Jack), Myles (Mack), Junior (Etou) and Mike (Williams), they were interdependent on one another. They had to talk, follow the game plan, they had to cover each other, support each other, protect each other and that's what they did. It was a five-man partnership for 20 minutes and it was really good to see."
