NEWARK, N.J. – Rutgers (5-5) out-rebounded Seton Hall (7-3) by a 52-38 margin and attempted 30 more field goals than its hosts in a hard-fought 72-66 loss Saturday afternoon at the Prudential Center in the Garden State Hardwood Classic. After trailing by as much as 17 in the second half, the Scarlet Knights battled back to within three points, but could get no closer in the rivalry contest that dates back to 1916.

"This was a great environment today," said Rutgers head coach Steve Pikiell. "Seton Hall was two possessions better."

The Scarlet Knights rebound total, buoyed by Shaquille Doorson's game and career-high tying 12 boards, signaled a season-high. Rutgers established a 20-9 advantage in second chance points and out-scored the Pirates 28-14 in the paint.

"We're going to keep grinding and getting better," added Pikiell. "We showed a lot of heart with 25 offensive rebounds. You have to shoot a better percentage when you get that many offensive rebounds."

Peter Kiss, Eugene Omoruyi and Geo Baker all scored in double figures for Rutgers, contributing 16, 15 and 14 points, respectively. Despite the outputs, the Scarlet Knights were hampered by a 31.6 field goal percentage (25-of-79), including a 20.7 percent mark (6-of-29) from behind the arc.

Rutgers posted points on the opening possession via a Doorson layup. Seton Hall charged ahead 7-2, but the visitors answered with an 8-0 run with scoring contributions from three freshmen for a 10-7 lead.

Another basket from Doorson provided the Scarlet Knights a 14-13 lead halfway through the opening frame. The Pirates responded with an 8-0 run to take a 21-14 advantage.

Seton Hall led by as much as 11 points in an initial 20 minutes that featured one tie and seven lead changes. The Pirates entered the locker room at the midpoint with a 34-25 lead.

Montez Mathis started the second half with a layup, but Seton Hall countered with a 10-0 run to push its advantage to 44-27, its largest lead of the game.

Rutgers responded with a 10-0 run over a two-minute span, with Baker and Kiss striking from long-range to cut the deficit to seven points at 46-39. Baker came alive to score 10 points in just three minutes of action to spark the visitors.

Rutgers reduced its deficit to five, trailing 54-49 with 7:30 remaining, as the teams battled back-and-forth down the stretch.

A layup by Mathis made it a one-possession game with three minutes remaining. The Pirates responded with a 7-0 burst, however, to ensure the victory. 

Rutgers returns to the hardwood next Saturday for a 1 p.m. tip-off versus Columbia at the RAC. The match-up will be streamed live on BTN Plus with Ralph Bednarczyk and Danny Breslauer on the call.

Fans can secure single game tickets for Rutgers home games, as well as flex ticket plans, online or by calling 866-445-GORU (4678). Additional information can obtained by visiting RutgersGameday.com. 
 
POSTGAME NOTES

• Peter Kiss had 16 points, his 28^th career double-digit scoring game and seventh this season.
• Eugene Omoruyi had 15 points, his 20^th career double-digit scoring game and ninth this season.
• Geo Baker had 14 points, his 29^th career double-digit scoring game and ninth this season.
• Shaquille Doorson had his third double-digit rebounding game of the season, tying his career-high with 12 rebounds. He also had a career-high three steals.
• Myles Johnson had a career-high nine rebounds.
• The last time Rutgers had at least 50 rebounds in a game was November 19, 2017 against Coppin State.
• Rutgers attempted 79 field goals, its most in a game since Feb. 3, 2016 and most in a regulation contest in more than 14 seasons.
• Rutgers starting lineup consisted of Geo Baker, Montez Mathis, Issa Thiam, Eugene Omoruyi and Shaquille Doorson for the first time this season. It was Rutgers' third different starting lineup of the season.
• The contest was the fourth contest for RU against an opponent ranked or receiving votes over five games and fourth road game in that span.
• Rutgers is 30-40 all-time in the series against Seton Hall that dates back to 1916.

POSTGAME QUOTES
 
Rutgers Head Coach Steve Pikiell

Opening Statement: "This was a great environment today. Seton Hall was two possessions better. We just kind of grinded through the game. Our game plan was about Myles Powell, we spent four days on that. I thought we had a good game plan. He's playing at a high, high level. He got more than his average, I was hoping we could hold him to his average. If we did, we would have been okay. They're a special, well coached team. Give Seton Hall the credit. We're going to keep grinding and getting better. We showed a lot of heart. 25 offensive rebounds, you have to shoot a better percentage when you get that many offensive rebounds. To their credit, they did a good job."

On the team's second half run: "We had some good looks. Then they it a big three, Geo drives the lane, Ron had a couple good looks, I was proud of Ron. The difference in a one-possession game is that their shots went in. Geo had a turnover, I thought that was huge. That led to two points. Powell made a huge one, we were trying to deny him the ball. But we dug back into this basketball game. We're still a team with a lot of youth, figuring stuff out. Foul trouble hurt us in the first half too, we had to shuffle our lineup."

On the game: "When you have a special player that's playing at a special level, and everyone around him knows that he's the guy, that's really important. That's where they are. They're well coached. Those other guys hit some timely threes."

On Geo Baker: "Geo got in foul trouble in the first half. I was disappointed at halftime in the threes. I didn't think we needed to take that many threes. Every time we drove, good things happened. We got the ball up on the rim, we rebounded it. Way too many threes. We've got good inside guys. Myles Johnson should get some of those shots. Shaq Doorson and Shaq Carter too, especially when threes aren't going in."