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QUEENS, N.Y. - Senior guard Bishop Daniels set career highs with 21 points, eight rebounds and five steals, but Rutgers (2-1) was unable to close out a game in which it led for the majority, falling 61-59 to St. John's (3-0) at Carnesecca Arena on Thursday night. The Scarlet Knights limited the Red Storm to 32.3 percent (20-of-62) shooting and established a 25-11 advantage in bench points in the hard-fought contest that was part of the inaugural Gavitt Tipoff Games.

Daniels shot 10-of-17 in 33 minutes off the bench and was instrumental in RU forcing 15 turnovers. He was joined in double figures by sophomore guard Mike Williams, who contributed 13 points on a 5-of-10 performance from the field.

The Scarlet Knights struggled at the charity stripe, making just 5-of-14 from the line. RU was also out-rebounded by a 50-39 margin.

The game was a back-and-forth affair early, as the teams' exchanged baskets for a 9-9 tie. Daniels entered and provided an immediate spark, scoring eight of the match-ups next 10 points to put RU in front 17-9.

At the same time, the Scarlet Knights defense clamped down on the Red Storm. St. John's missed 10 consecutive shots and made just four of their first 23 attempts from the field. RU used that defensive lockdown to stretch its lead into double digits.

St. John's began to heat up from the field, but Rutgers would match them shot for shot. D.J. Foreman knocked down a big three and slammed home a dunk on the next possession to give Rutgers a 26-18 advantage. On the final possession of the first half, Daniels broke down his defender, and made a reverse layup to give the Scarlet Knights a 33-26 lead at intermission.

Rutgers came out of the locker room strong, as Williams knocked down a three, and a Sanders dunk forced an early St. John's timeout with the Rutgers lead stretched to 12. The Scarlet Knights extended the lead before a 7-0 run by the Red Storm caused a Rutgers timeout as it sought to regroup, leading 45-36 with 12:43 left to play.

RU extended its lead to 50-36, but the Red Storm pushed back with a 9-0 run to cut the advantage to 50-45. Deshawn Freeman answered back, with two straight baskets to push the advantage back to 54-47. The Scarlet Knights held the lead into the last media timeout, leading 58-53.

St. John's Federico Mussini scored the next five points, tying the score at 58-58. Sanders put Rutgers ahead with a free throw, but two makes from the charity stripe gave St. John's their first lead of the second half at 60-59.

Ultimately, Rutgers was unable to find its burst, falling by the final margin of 61-59 as a Daniels three-pointer tweaked the twine after the final buzzer sounded.

Rutgers returns to the hardwood Saturday (Nov. 21) at the RAC versus Central Arkansas in a preliminary round game of the Men Who Speak Up Main Event. Tip-off is slated for 5 p.m. in the contest that will be streamed live on BTN Plus.

Postgame Notes
• Bishop Daniels had a career-high 21 points. His 14 points in the first half were his most in a single frame in his Rutgers career.
• Daniels also set a career-high with eight rebounds and five steals.
• It was Daniels' 11th time reaching double-figure scoring and fourth time as the team's leading scorer.
• Mike Williams had 13 points, eight of them in the second half. He tied his career-high with three made three-pointers.
• D.J. Foreman had nine points and eight rebounds, including his fourth career three-pointer. Foreman tied his career-high in rebounds for the second straight game.
• Ibrahima Diallo collected five rebounds in 14 minutes of action.
• St. John's now leads the all-time series 27-14, including a 12-4 mark in home games.
• This contest was part of the inaugural Gavitt Games. An annual series between the BIG EAST and Big Ten Conferences, the Gavitt Tipoff Games are named in honor of Naismith Memorial Hall of Famer Dave Gavitt.
• Rutgers used this starting lineup for the first time this season: guard Corey Sanders, guard Mike Williams, forward D.J. Foreman, forward Deshawn Freeman, and center Greg Lewis.
• It was the first start at Rutgers for Sanders and Freeman.

Rutgers Head Coach Eddie Jordan

On the offense down the stretch:

"We spread the floor, which was good for us at some points in the game so we stuck with it. They were going back from man to zone, but that wasn't the big issue. The big thing is that we couldn't make free throws down the stretch. We did enough to get to the line and we just didn't convert at the line, which fed into their momentum."

On the Perimeter Defense:

"What did they shoot? 32 percent. That sounds pretty good to me. Whether it was in the perimeter or the post, we had a game plan and for the most part we followed through with it. We harassed [Federico] Mussini a little bit with the pick and rolls and we sustained our shows and sometimes trapped him. He's a good player, he's learning from Chris [Mullin] so he's going to learn about the game real quick. We wanted to keep him off balance with our defense so he wouldn't have a clear vision of attacking us."

On the last play of the game:

"The defense sort of corralled him to the sideline and he didn't have a clear vision or a clear lane, and I have to give the defense credit for that. He's trying to find a lane in just about six seconds or less, so it was enough time that if he had a clear lane and a straight line he could have made a play. But give St. John's credit, they loaded up on him on the strong side and he found Bishop, but too late."

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