PISCATAWAY – Rutgers (7-5) had 20 assists on 23 field goals, while out-rebounding Maine (2-12) by a 40-26 margin, to earn a 70-55 victory on Saturday afternoon at the RAC. Redshirt freshman Myles Johnson scored 10 points and grabbed 10 rebounds to register his first career double-double in the Scarlet Knights' final non-conference contest of the regular season.

"Myles has been getting better in practice," said Rutgers head coach Steve Pikiell. "He has great hands and uses them effectively. He had six offensive rebounds today, made some great plays and finished around the basket. He has to continue to do that in the league that we play in."

Eugene Omoruyi scored a game-high 17 points on 7-of-12 shooting and Caleb McConnell add a career-best 14 points to help Rutgers improve to 24-4 in non-conference home games under Pikiell. Geo Baker played a key role in the offensive outputs, dishing-out a season-high nine assists.

"They have learned how to practice the right way," said Pikiell. "Geo did not make shots today, but he got some big assists and steals down the stretch. Caleb has become a nice partner. He uses his length to get better defensively too."

Peter Kiss threw down an alley-oop dunk off an assist from Montez Mathis on the opening possession to start the game with style points. A 10-0 burst by Maine midway through the opening stanza, however, provided the Black Bears a 10-point, 18-8, advantage.

For the second consecutive contest, the Scarlet Knights battled-back from a double-digit first half deficit. A three-pointer from McConnell completed a 20-9 run and reclaimed the lead for Rutgers. Johnson closed out the half with a dunk, and the Scarlet Knights entered the locker room at the midpoint with a 30-27 edge.

Rutgers was hot from long range after the break. Kiss swished a triple, then Baker drilled 3-pointers on consecutive possessions, to give the Scarlet Knights a 39-31 lead. Johnson provided RU a boost with back-to-back baskets and sparked a 14-0 run to extend the lead into double digits at 60-42. The Scarlet Knights imposed their will for the remainder to ensure the 15-point victory.

"We held them to the speed limit of 55, so good things happened," said Pikiell. "I want to thank all the fans for coming and now we have a week to prepare for a sold-out Maryland game."


Rutgers returns to the hardwood next Saturday (Jan. 5) to resume its Big Ten campaign with 2 p.m. tip-off versus the Terrapins at the RAC. The match-up is sold out to the general public and will be televised live on BTN with Kevin Kugler and Bob Wenzel on the call. The "Winter Break at The RAC" promotion is in effect against Maryland and enables students with a valid Rutgers ID to bring guests in the student section. Guest tickets can be claimed via the normal student claim process.

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

• Rutgers had 20 assists on 23 field goals to post a season-best 87% assist percentage.
• Rutgers established a 40-26 advantage on the glass, signaling the third time this season (Drexel, Seton Hall) that RU has out-rebounded an opponent by 14 boards.
• Rutgers is 24-4 in non-conference home games under Steve Pikiell.
• Myles Johnson scored a career-high 10 points and grabbed a career-high 10 rebounds to earn his first career double-double while playing a career-high 21 minutes.
• Eugene Omoruyi scored 17 points, reaching double-figures for the 11^th time this season and 22nd time in his career. In his last six contests he has averaged 17.0 points-per-game.
• Baker had a season-high nine assists, his ninth game this season and 13^th of his career with five or more helpers. It marked the most assists for an RU player since Baker had 11 versus FDU on Dec. 9, 2017.
• Caleb McConnell scored a career-high 14 points and dished-out a career-best three assists.
• Montez Mathis had a career-high three assists.
• Rutgers now holds a 4-0 advantage in the series with Maine that dates back to 1924.
• Pikiell improved his all-time head coaching record against Maine to 18-7.
• Rutgers is 5-0 when committing fewer turnovers than its opponent and 6-0 when limiting its opponent to 65 points or less this season.
• Rutgers starting lineup consisted of Geo Baker, Peter Kiss, Montez Mathis, Eugene Omoruyi and Shaquille Doorson for the second straight game. The Scarlet Knights have utilized four starting lineups this season.

 
POSTGAME QUOTES
 
Rutgers Head Coach Steve Pikiell
 
Opening Statement: "Appreciate the fans that came out, the band was here, the dance team, and the cheerleaders created great energy for us. I like being back here in the RAC. I thought we did some good things. They are never easy, but we had a team play us all-zone, which is a little than what we have been seeing. Career high for Myles (Johnson), double-double for him, season high in assists for Geo (Baker), we outrebounded them. I think Caleb McConnell keeps getting better. He had his career-high, so a lot of good things happened. We held them to the speed limit of 55, so good things happened. I want to thank all the fans for coming and now we have a week to prepare for a sold-out Maryland game."
 
On Caleb McConnell and Geo Baker playing together: "I like it in practice too. Caleb has come a long way. I am really proud of his development. You saw a little bit of Myles (Johnson) today too, the things that he can bring to the table. I like how they have all been practicing, they have been giving us a lot in practice. They have learned how to practice the right way. Geo (Baker) did not make shots today, but he got some big assists and steals down the stretch. Caleb has become a nice partner, he uses his length to get better defensively too."
 
On Geo Baker playing off the ball: "Just moving him around a bit. I think they have to be concerned about him on and off the ball. I do not really care who has the ball, having two-point guards on the floor is a luxury so we will keep using that lineup as long as those guys keep practicing well."
 
On Myles Johnson getting first career double-double: "I loved him. Myles has been getting better in practice. He has great hands and uses them effectively. He had six offensive rebounds today, made some great plays and finished around the basket. He has to continue to do that in the league that we play in. He has to finish around the rim and he gave us great poise in the middle of the game."
 
On the big scoring run in the second half: "The whole game I thought we were getting great shots, just not making them in the first half. Just hanging in there and waiting for them to start falling. Same thing happened against Columbia the other day when stuff was not falling for us. We made a couple of great runs and put together some stops down the stretch. If it was not for a couple of banks towards the end of the shot clock, we could have had some shot-clock violations too at the end. When the offense get better, the defense also gets a little bit more energized."
 
On looking ahead to conference play: "I like my team a lot. We have learned how to practice well, I like that fact. Guys have emerged, especially when you have six new guys that have never played for Rutgers before. I like our offense at times and the defense at times. We are going to have to be more consistent in the Big Ten, which is the best league in the country. We are going to have to move in that direction. That is going to be the next big thing."
 
On adjusting to practices for the young team: "I think it is huge. The biggest adjustment between college and high school is practice, the length and the intensity of it. They have to learn a new system, it is a lot different than high school. Season is a lot longer, more coaches watching you, we film every practice. People remember their senior years of high school, they do not remember their freshman year, when they probably had to make a lot of adjustments. I like how our guys have progressed, I see some great signs. Montez Mathis grabbed big rebounds, gave us huge energy and attacked the rim. They all show signs of being really good. Ron Harper Jr. hit a big three, got big assists in the middle of the zone. Every one of them chipped in. We started the game off the right way with a couple of easy baskets and Peter Kiss gets the big dunk at the start. Everyone contributed today, it was a big team win, good team defense and big team win."
 
On the increase in three-point attempts: "If teams play zone and they give up wide open threes, then I trust my guys to take them. Issa (Thiam) and Ron (Harper Jr.) are good 3-point shooters and I trust them to take them. In the second half we drove the ball a little more and started to make the threes which broke the game open. Depending on how teams play, we took 29 against Eastern Michigan, who played us all zone and Maine played us all zone. I am more concerned with the quality of the 3-point attempts, I think we took only two bad ones today, which is a pretty good. I have a lot of faith in my guys. Geo (Baker) can shoot the ball, so I am going to let him shoot it. I am just glad we grabbed rebounds. We had 17 offensive rebounds and outrebounded them and did not turn the ball over."
 
Maine Head Coach Richard Barron
 
On his team's performance: "I was pleased with our team's effort. I think we had a couple of moments where we lost our way and we missed some shots. We didn't do a good job [in the second half] of keeping it out of the paint, and I believe that led to a 12 or 14-0 run. So, the game got away from us during that stretch. Unfortunately, that's been a characteristic of ours. We have those letdowns, but I give Rutgers a lot of credit. Their size really hurt us on the boards and they got to the free throw line. We have to find a way to either grow or get more physical underneath." 
 
On their non-conference schedule: "We've played a tough non-conference schedule with a lot of road games. Hopefully we're learning from these experiences. It's important that our guys keep their heads up and realize that what we did for 30 minutes is something we can do for 40, we just have to have the discipline to execute throughout the game."
 
On his message to the team: "I think the message remains the same and we have to keep our heads up. We took a step forward today and I thought we played well for 30-32 minutes. But we have to figure it out, and I have to do a better job of calling timeouts to stop those runs. They don't seem to happen in 30 seconds, it almost feels like death by a 1,000 cuts. I do feel like our team will remain optimistic and keep working to improve. As Rutgers gets into Big Ten play, I hope this game helps them prepare for what they're going to see."