Rutgers University
DePaul
Men's Hoops Vanquishes the Blue Demons
Nov 17 | Men's Basketball
ROSEMONT, Ill - Rutgers (3-0) out-rebounded DePaul (1-1) by a 46-27 margin to earn a 66-59 win at Allstate Arena Thursday evening in the Gavitt Games. The Scarlet Knights led by as many as 22 points in the victory, which provides RU its first 3-0 start since 2008-09.
"I thought our guys were locked in and did a really good job defensively," said head coach Steve Pikiell. "We've become a much improved defensive team and we're a good rebounding team. Those are two good traits. If we can bring those on the road it bodes well for us."
Corey Sanders led Rutgers with 15 points. Mike Williams added 14 points and had nine rebounds. Deshawn Freeman finished just shy of his third straight double-double with nine points and nine boards.
The Scarlet Knights were 23-of-29 at the free-throw line.
Rutgers jumped-out to an early 5-0 lead as its defense forced DePaul to miss its first six attempts from the floor. Williams provided an early spark off the bench, as he knocked down a three-pointer, then skied for an offensive rebound and converted for a three-point play, as the two squads were tied at 17-17 at the under-eight media timeout.
RU used strong shooting at the charity stripe to extend the lead, pushing the advantage to 28-22 with nine straight points coming from the free-throw line. Freeman followed that with a three-point play for a nine-point advantage.
Buoyed by a 29-8 rebounding advantage and 13-of-14 shooting at the free-throw line, the visitors took a 33-26 lead into the halftime locker room.
Rutgers came out of the gates strong in the second half. An early three-pointer from Candido Sa gave the visitors a 40-28 lead at the first media timeout. Then, the backcourt duo of Sanders and Nigel Johnson got it going, trading off layups and making defensive stops as Rutgers grew its lead to 46-28.
The Scarlet Knights continued to exert their dominance in the frontcourt. Jonathan Laurent and Shaquille Doorson chipped in points in the paint, and Rutgers pushed its lead over 20 points at 54-32.
DePaul pushed back late in the second half, and used a 7-0 run to cut the Rutgers lead to 60-48 at the final media timeout. Williams iced the game with a rebound and a put-back with a minute to play, and RU brought home the victory.
Rutgers limited the hosts to a 38.9 percent field goal percentage and held leading scorer Billy Garrett, Jr. to five points on 1-of-11 shooting.
"I'm trying to get the team in the mode of defending and rebounding that helps win basketball games," said Pikiell. "I'm happy for the guys. It's been a long time coming. We haven't won a road game in a while. It gives you a little more confidence going on the road."
Rutgers returns to the hardwood to host Niagara Sunday at the RAC in a 12 noon tip-off on BTN.
Postgame Notes
- The Scarlet Knights begin the season 3-0 for the first time since 2008-09.
- Steve Pikiell has led RU to a 3-0 start. The last men's basketball head coach to begin his tenure 3-0 was Donald S. White in 1945-46.
- Rutgers won its first road game since December 28, 2014, a buzzer-beating 59-58 win at Monmouth. RU snapped a streak of 23 straight losses away from the RAC.
- Rutgers now leads the all-time series 7-4 over DePaul.
- Rutgers has won six of the last eight in the series and is 4-2 on the Blue Demons' home court.
- Corey Sanders' 15 points were his 24th time in double digits and 13th time leading the team.
- Mike Williams' nine rebounds were his third most in a single game.
