Box Score
WEST LAFAYETTE, IND. - Rutgers (10-19, 2-14) had five players score in double figures, led by 18 points from Kadeem Jack- who became the 41st player in RU history to reach 1,000 points for his career - in a hard-fought, 92-85 loss at Purdue (19-9, 11-4) on Thursday evening. Bishop Daniels added 17 points and D.J. Foreman set a new career high with 15, but the Scarlet Knights' late comeback fell just short.
Myles Mack (15) and Mike Williams (10) also scored double figures for Rutgers, whichposted a season-high 85 points. The Scarlet Knights outscored the Boilermakers 55-46 in the second half.
Early on it was Mack and Jack propelling Rutgers' offense, combining for the first 11 RU points. Purdue established a 12-6 lead, but a putback dunk from Jack followed by Mack draining a three-pointer cut the deficit to one.
A scoring drought then befell RU, and Purdue capitalized to push ahead 21-13. Junior Etou ended the drought with a three-pointer as the shot clock hit zero, cutting the home team's advantage to 21-16.
Purdue counted with another run, going on an 11-0 spurt over the next 2:55 to go in front 32-16. Daniels led Rutgers back, scoring six points of his own over the next two minutes. The remainder of the half was even, with the teams trading baskets, and the Boilermakers took a 46-30 lead into the halftime locker room.
In the opening frame, Purdue shot 60 percent (15-of-25) while Rutgers was held to 33 percent (10-of-30) from the field. RU led 9-4 in the first half in second chance points, while Purdue held a slim 18-16 advantage on the boards.
To start the second half, Rutgers made six of its first eight shots. However, Purdue continued to counter the Scarlet Knights' scoring and extended their lead to 20.
Rutgers responded with a 12-2 run to cut the lead to 10 with 6:26 to play at 69-59. The squads went back-and-forth down the stretch, and Rutgers made a late charge to pull within seven points at 86-79 after a Williams' three-pointer. The Scarlet Knights refused to quit in the game's waning minutes, but were unable to complete the late charge.
The Scarlet Knights return home for their next game, which will be Senior Night at the RAC. Rutgers will honor seniors Myles Mack, Kadeem Jack, Malick Kone and Stephen Zurich at a 7 p.m. tipoff Tuesday against Maryland.
POSTGAME NOTES:
· Kadeem Jack became the 41st player in Rutgers history to reach 1,000 points for his career.
· Jack had 18 points and 11 rebounds, notching his third double-double of the season and 10th of his career.
· D.J. Foreman scored a career-high 15 points- his second career game in double digits.
· Bishop Daniels had 17 points - his eighth double-digit scoring game of the season.
· Myles Mack scored 15 points, reaching double figures for the 21st time this season (84th career).
· Mike Williams scored 10 points, reaching double figures for the first time since Jan. 14 at Maryland.
· Rutgers offense put up its highest scoring total of the season (85 points).
· It was the first game this season Rutgers had five players score in double figures.
· Purdue now leads the all-time series 6-1. Rutgers win over Purdue came on Dec. 4, 1975 during the team's 31-0 start en route to the Final Four.
