PISCATAWAY, N.J. – Rutgers (1-0) led by as much as 16 points in the second half, but a persistent Bryant (0-2) refused to relent, forcing RU to grind-out a 73-71 win Thursday night at the RAC. Three Scarlet Knights scored in double-digits in the season-opening victory.

"I'm glad we gutted out a win," said head coach Steve Pikiell. "I always give credit to the other team. They played their brains out. We had a 16-point lead — they made threes, they made shots, we didn't wrap up the game the way I liked. We're young. It's a learning experience and we can have film now to move forward and get better."

Montez Mathis and Ron Harper Jr. both scored 11 points, while Akwasi Yeboah added 10, to pace a balanced attack for the hosts. Myles Johnson and Jacob Young each contributed nine points and Paul Mulcahy posted eight on 3-of-5 shooting. Johnson was 4-of-7 from the field with seven boards.

Rutgers out-scored the Bulldogs 42-18 in the paint and out-rebounded the visitors by a 49-40 margin. Geo Baker grabbed a game and career-high tying eight rebounds.

The Scarlet Knights had 11 steals, including four by Harper Jr., to force 21 Bryant turnovers. As a result, RU benefitted 18-11 in points-off-turnovers.

"We did some good things defensively, so we'll show them the good and the bad," said Pikiell. "We'll keep improving. One thing I'm very confident about is we'll be a good defensive team and these guys know that. We blocked some shots, we got a ton of steals, so our defense was effective in a lot of ways."

Rutgers returns to the hardwood Sunday afternoon to host Niagara in a 1 p.m. tip-off. The contest will be streamed live via BTN Plus.

Fans can secure single 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 

• Tonight's attendance was 5,692, signaling the highest home opener attendance since 2014 and the largest home opening crowd under Steve Pikiell
• The Scarlet Knights improved to 78-29 all-time in season-openers.
• Pikiell is now 4-0 at the RU helm in openers and 25-4 in non-conference home games.
• Rutgers is 3-0 all-time versus Bryant, with all games contested at the RAC.
• Graduate student Akwasi Yeboah, junior Jacob Young and freshman Paul Mulcahy all saw their first game action in a Rutgers uniform.
• Ron Harper Jr. had a career-best four steals.
• Geo Baker grabbed a career-high tying eight rebounds.

POSTGAME QUOTES

Rutgers Head Coach Steve Pikiell

Opening Statement: I'm glad we gutted out a win. I always give credit to the other team. They played their brains out. We had a 16-point lead — they made threes, they made shots, we didn't wrap up the game the way I liked. We're young. It's a learning experience and we can have film now to move forward and get better. These guys all did a great job. Geo with a big stop right there at the end, energy right here, Ron did what he always does, Tez with a big stop at the end making them take a real difficult (shot). We're 1-0 and that's what I'm most excited about."
 
On late surge by Bryant: "We gotta make some free throws. Game management too, we had a lot of turnovers down the stretch. We gotta finish our layups too.  But we had to get a stop at the end and we did."

On grinding out the win: "I like grinds and the season is a grind, the whole season. I hope you guys enjoy it because that's college basketball at its best. They're a new team, give their coach a ton of credit. They have nine new players and I didn't even know some of them. You can watch all the tape from last year you want, nine new players on the roster so they did a really good job. We had to manage our way through the game today, but I like to grind out wins because that's what we've done. We showed some grit and we had to do that again today. (It's) a step for us and now we have some great tape to go over. We'll get better."

On defensive adjustments: "(Bryant's) a dangerous team. It was different matchups for us today because they went small a lot of times so we were playing matchups that we haven't had to play. It's good for us because we'll be in another (game) like this too and we'll be able to do a much better job."

On Paul Mulcahy's first collegiate game: "I love all the players on my roster, I really do. He has a swagger and a grit to him which is exactly what I thought. He's a winner. and he's the happiest guy in the locker room after a win and I love that part of him, too. All these guys do a great job and (I'm) just very thankful. I think our bench is really, really good. We can bring some guys off that can do some things. We haven't played in 239 days (and) it showed today. It's been a long off-season but we'll keep getting better."

On expecting rust in first game: "You always do. You want better for your team, but if we were great today, I would be a little bit nervous too. We got a lot to work on. I'll get their attention now. Our defense will be better, it was good when it needed to be. Our offense — we gotta take care of the ball a little bit more. We gotta make some free throws too, gotta make some threes. We'll watch shot selection, we'll talk to them about it. I thought we had way too many careless turnovers, but in the first game of the season, those kinds of things happen."

On defensive performance: "We did some good things defensively, so we'll show them the good and the bad. Well keep improving. One thing I'm very confident (about) — we'll be a good defensive team and these guys know that. We blocked some shots, we got a ton of steals, so our defense was effective in a lot of ways."

Bryant Head Coach Jared Grasso 

On the final play: "We were going for the win on a three. Our best player got a pretty good look I thought. I thought it was down, in and out. Chalk it up to the basketball gods. We'll get it back at some point this year."

On playing a Big Ten team down to the wire: "It says a lot about our program. Two years ago, the guys came down here and lost by 30. Here we are two years later. We're trying to build something. Had a shot to win it at the buzzer. I think the program is moving in the right direction. My guys fought their tails off. I couldn't be prouder of those guys. They played as hard as they could, they competed. I had five guards on the floor at the end of the game. I told them in the locker room if they compete like that all year, we have a chance to do special things. This team is just getting to know each other. We have seven, eight new guys. Our best basketball is way ahead of us."

On the message to the team to get back into the game: "Just keep fighting. To me, it's about the physicality and competing. If you compete really hard and are really physical and really tough, good things happen. That's what they were. They were gritty, they fought, dove for loose balls. I have tough kids. I have a bunch of freshmen out there playing against men. They were competing, a bunch of 6-2 guys flying in for loose balls and getting stops late in the game. So that's a credit to our guy's toughness."

On the younger players: "I said it after the Brown game. Those guys are ballers. I don't do freshman, sophomore, junior, senior. They're ballers and they're not scared of anybody. They're not backing down from anybody. Those guys are just players. That's why I recruited them and that's why I think our program is moving in the right direction. They have huge hearts. They love each other. They care about each other. They fight for each other. That's what our program is about."