PISCATAWAY, N.J. –Rutgers (3-1) tied the NCAA Division I defensive record by limiting MAC West Division favorite Eastern Michigan (4-2) to just four first half points in a 63-36 victory Monday night at the RAC in the Hub City Classic. The Scarlet Knights restricted the Eagles to 27.8% (15-of-54) shooting to tie the school record for fewest points scored by a D-I opponent in the shot clock era.
 
"We were locked in and ready to play and that is credit to Geo (Baker), Shaq (Doorson), and Eugene (Omoruyi)," said Rutgers head coach Steve Pikiell. "They did a great job in making sure the game plan was followed. I am really pleased. That is our kind of defense. I know we have a chance to be a really good defensive team."
 
Baker was 7-of-9 shooting, including 6-of-8 from behind the arc, to score a game-high 20 points in a contest RU that led convincingly throughout. The sophomore guard also dished out five assists, as RU issued 20 helpers on 24 field goals. Issa Thiam contributed a career-high six assists, as the Scarlet Knights established a 22-6 advantage in points-off-turnovers and registered double digit 3-pointers for the third time in four games.
 
"I thought we did a real good job passing the ball," said Pikiell. "The guys passed up good looks for better looks. We got the ball in the post when we wanted."
 
Rutgers opened the contest with an 11-0 run and never looked back. The Eagles made just two field goals in the opening 20 minutes, shooting eight percent (2-of-25), as the Scarlet Knights took a 31-4 advantage into the locker room at the midpoint.
 
Eastern Michigan scored the initial five points after the break to gather some confidence and reduce its deficit. The Scarlet Knights responded by increasing their advantage to 31 points on three occasions before securing the 27-point victory. It marks the second straight year that RU has won three of its first four games by 25 points or more.
 
"I like this team," said Pikiell. "I like our leadership. When we play with an edge like that, we are going to continue to grow. We are the youngest team in the league, but we have some good veterans. When these guys follow the game plan, this team has a chance to be unique."
 
Rutgers returns to the hardwood on Friday to host Boston University in a 2 p.m. tip-off at the RAC to conclude the Hub City Classic. The contest will be streamed live via BTN Plus with Ralph Bednarczyk and Danny Breslauer on the call.
 
Fans can secure single game tickets and flex ticket plans online, or by calling 866-445-GORU (4678). Additional information can obtained by visiting RutgersGameday.com. 
 
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POSTGAME NOTES 

• Rutgers allowed just four points in the opening half. That tied the NCAA record for fewest points allowed in a half and the record for points allowed in the opening half since 1985-86, the beginning of the shot clock era. Tonight's opponent, Eastern Michigan, was the last to allow just four points in the opening half against Northern Illinois on Jan. 26, 2013. Kansas State held Savannah State to four points in the second half on Jan. 7, 2008. 
• The 36 points allowed ties the school record in the shot clock era, matching a defensive effort against Columbia (60-36) on Nov. 18, 2002 in the preseason NIT at the RAC.
• For the second straight year, Rutgers won three of its first four games by 25 points or more.
• In the shot clock era, Rutgers has now held an opponent under 40 points eight times. Steve Pikiell has been the head coach for four of those games.
• Shaquille Doorson scored a career-high nine points, surpassing his previous high of eight against ECU last season, and tied his career-high with three blocks.
• Doorson is 10-of-10 from the field thus far this season.
• Entering the game ranked seventh nationally with 7.3 blocks per game, Rutgers put up five rejections against EMU.
• Entering the game ranked 13th nationally with a .458 three-point shooting percentage, Rutgers shot 42 percent (10-of-24) from behind the arc against EMU.
• Rutgers has made double-digit three-pointers in three of its four games.
• Eugene Omoruyi drew three charges to give him eight for the season.
• Geo Baker reached the 20-point mark in a game for the second time this season, and fourth in his career.
• Issa Thiam had a career-high six assists. His previous high was two on five occasions.
• Rutgers is 21-4 in non-conference home games under Steve Pikiell.
• Rutgers is 14-3 in the month of November under Steve Pikiell.
• In the first meeting between these teams since 1995, Rutgers evened the all-time series at 1-1.
• Geo Baker reached double figure scoring for the third time this season and 23rd time in his career.
• Peter Kiss scored in double figures, his team-leading 24th time in his career.
• Rutgers starting lineup consisted of Geo Baker, Peter Kiss, Issa Thiam, Eugene Omoruyi and Shaquille Doorson for the fourth time in as many games.

 
POST-GAME QUOTES
 
Rutgers Head Coach Steve Pikiell

Opening Statement: "I want to thank everyone for coming out on a Monday. The fans that showed up were loud, I appreciate that very much. I like the way we started the game. We were locked in and ready to play and that is credit to Geo (Baker), Shaq (Doorson), and Eugene (Omoruyi). They did a great job in making sure the game plan was followed. I am really pleased. That is our kind of defense. I know we have a chance to be a really good defensive team. We played a really good team that is going to win a lot of games. It is a dangerous team that we played. We did a good job in doing what we needed to do tonight."

On defensive effort leading to tying the NCAA record for least points allowed in a half: "I was just proud of them. We were aggressive. Their leading scorer, Elijah Minnie had 28 points against Boston University and we held him to zero, so Issa (Thiam) and Ron (Harper Jr.), who primarily guarded him, did a great job. I thought we had good team defense, shot blockers, guys in gaps, getting steals. I thought we did a good job in being aggressive on that side of the ball against a dangerous team picked to win the MAC. I'm very happy with our defense in this game."

On passing the ball, 20 assists on 23 made field goals: "I thought we did a real good job passing the ball. The guys passed up good looks for better looks. We got the ball in the post when we wanted. The guys took real good shots, so I liked our shot selection. It is a different type of game. We only had one day to prepare for a team that is long. I liked the way these guys responded on the short prep time."

On going 3-1 to start the season: "I like this team. I like our leadership. When we play with an edge like that, we are going to continue to grow. We are the youngest team in the league, but we have some good veterans. When these guys follow the game plan, this team has a chance to be unique. A lot of young guys are figuring it out and giving us great minutes, guys like Montez (Mathis), Ron Harper Jr., Caleb (McConnell), and Myles (Johnson), even Peter Kiss for the first time getting big minutes, so we have a lot of new guys figuring it out."

On Montez Mathis' performance: "He moved the ball around today, and he is going to get his points. He is going to have a great career here. We really shared the ball today and played looked down defense, we will score plenty of points as we did tonight."

On finding a groove with the rotations: "I think we are good with the rotations. Tonight we played a lot of big guys, as they had two bigs, played two fives at times. We were able to do that and we still have to figure it out and guys have to accept their roles. Every team is different. We played a team with all guards the other day in St. John's, and today we played a team with a ton of bigs, with one day to turn it around. It is nice those kind of options on the bench."

On Geo Baker's minutes: "I want him to play all 40. I am real comfortable with him and the rest of the veterans on the team. He can play as many minutes as he wants. Have to stay out of foul trouble, which is a big part of that."

"It is a great day for Rutgers Basketball overall, as Paul Mulcahy's letter of intent came in today. He is officially in the family. We are happy to have Paul joining us. He's another nice player, a great passer and a New Jersey guy so today is great day for Rutgers and Rutgers Basketball."
 
Eastern Michigan Head Coach Rob Murphy

On the first half: "It was tough. It is always a tough turnaround when you have to travel from the Midwest to the East Coast, and one-day prep coming into a Big Ten venue. I knew it would be tough. I didn't want to travel to be this. When I looked at the schedule, I knew that. The first half, give Rutgers a lot of credit. They bumped us off the block, we couldn't get the ball inside. They did a great job of hedging ball screens and they made every shot tough. I thought we made a few bad decisions after we got down 12 trying to play one-on-one basketball. You can't do that against a team that is big, athletic, strong and packs the paint. So I thought we got down and lost a bit of confidence. We talked about it at halftime and made some adjustments. I thought we came out with a lot of energy in the second half and tried to make a run at it, buy anytime you get down 20-plus points in the opposition's building, normally you don't come back. It's tough. They protected their home court, which is great. And again, I thought our legs weren't there, our decision making wasn't there and Rutgers did a great job tonight."

On playing at Duke and at Rutgers: "We haven't played well, so I don't know what we can take out of it. Both were lopsided losses, so it's really tough to know because we didn't even compete and give ourselves a chance. I think anytime you're in a venue like this, or any venue, you have to give yourself a chance to a win on the road. You have to put a little pressure on the home team. Maybe get a four to six point lead in either half and make them think, make them have to make decisions under pressure, and we never did that tonight. They were comfortable for 40 minutes. They were in their building, haven't been on the road and they're really comfortable here. I thought for us, we just didn't bring it, didn't have it. Some of it is travel, but a lot of it is Rutgers, their game plan and them executing and doing a good job."