EVANSTON, Ill. – Geo Baker and Montez Mathis both scored 12 points and Eugene Omoruyi iced the game with two clutch free throws with nine seconds remaining, as Rutgers (12-12, 5-9) defeated Northwestern (12-12, 3-10) 59-56 on Wednesday evening at Welsh-Ryan Arena. The victory provided the Scarlet Knights two confer­ence road wins for the first time in a season since joining the Big Ten in 2014-15.
 
"That was just two teams playing hard out there," said Rutgers head coach Steve Pikiell. "I have a ton of respect for Coach Collins and his program. We just made a couple more plays tonight."
 
The Scarlet Knights established a 44-30 advantage on the glass, out-scored Northwestern 34-14 in the paint and took advantage of a 25-5 margin in fast break points.
 
With the game tied at the break, the Scarlet Knights shot 48.3 percent in the second half, while limiting the Wildcats to a 36.4 percent overall mark from the field, to earn the victory.
 
"We have some young guys who play with heart," said Pikiell. "We really defended well tonight. Our freshmen made a lot of plays down the stretch. It was a tough, hard fought game. That's what you are going to get in this league. It just comes down to a couple possessions."
 
The scoring started slowly. Halfway through the opening half the Wildcats held a 13-8 lead. Baker gave the visitors a spark, scoring the game's next six points, first on an old-fashioned three-point play, then a step-back three-pointer that provided RU its first lead of the evening at 14-13.
 
RU's defense locked down on the Wildcats, limiting the home squad to one of ten field goal attempts over a stretch, as well as one point over a span of 5:15. Myles Johnson sparked a 6-0 run, first with a rejection on defense, then the freshman hit a turnaround jumper to give the Scarlet Knights their largest lead of the half at 22-16.
 
Northwestern responded with the next six points to tie the game. At the midpoint, the teams were even at 22-22.
 
In the second half, Caleb McConnell found his stroke, scoring seven points in a two-minute span to put Rutgers ahead 41-40 with 11 minutes to play.
 
Following a slam dunk from Shaquille Doorson, Omoruyi hit a three-pointer that gave Rutgers its largest lead of the night at 49-41 with six minutes remaining. Baker followed that with a long jumper that gave the Scarlet Knights a 51-43 lead.
 
Northwestern fought back, and hit a three-pointer with 1:50 remaining to get back within one possession at 53-50. Omoruyi hit a tough layup with 1:15 on the clock to make it a 55-50 lead, but Northwestern answered with a three-pointer and RU led 55-53 entering the game's final minute.
 
Johnson gave RU a 57-53 advantage with 37 seconds left. Vic Law countered with another three-pointer for the home team, and Rutgers' lead was cut to 57-56 with 18.2 seconds remaining.
 
A five-second violation gave Northwestern the ball, but Ron Harper Jr. came up with a clutch block to deny the ensuing shot. Omoruyi responded with two makes at the free throw line, and Northwestern's desperation attempt fell short, as Rutgers earned the road victory.


 
Rutgers returns home to host No. 21/17 Iowa on Saturday at 6 p.m. in a contest sold out to the general public. It marks the fourth sell-out of the season after capacity crowds watched the Scarlet Knights battle No. 8 Michigan State on Nov. 30, Maryland on Jan. 5, and No. 7 Michigan on Feb. 5. Rutgers students can still acquire tickets by clicking here. Rutgers Athletics will implement an alternate traffic pattern for the match-up with the Hawkeyes. Saturday's game will be televised on FS1 with Brian Custer and Jim Spanarkel providing the play-by-play and analysis.
 
Fans can secure single game tickets for the final two home games online or by calling 866-445-GORU (4678). Additional information can obtained by visiting RutgersGameday.com.
 
Follow Rutgers men's basketball on Facebook (www.facebook.com/RutgersMBB), Twitter (www.twitter.com/RutgersMBB) and Instagram (www.instagram.com/RutgersMBB) for additional news and updates.
 
Postgame Notes

• The Scarlet Knights have earned two confer­ence road wins for the first time in a season since joining the Big Ten in 2014-15.
• The last time Rutgers' earned two conference road wins in a season was 2011-12 as members of the Big East (1/11/12, 62-39 at Pittsburgh and 2/25/12 at 77-72 overtime win at Seton Hall).
• Northwestern entered the game averaging 70.5 points per game at home, and Rutgers held them to 56.
• Montez Mathis (12 points) reached double-figure scoring for the 11th time this season, and ninth against a Big Ten opponent.
• Geo Baker (12 points) reached double-figure scoring for the 19th time this season and 39th time in his career with 12 points.
• Eugene Omoruyi registered 11 points, scoring in double figures for the 17th time this season and 27th occasion in his career.
• Northwestern now leads the all-time series 10-3. This was Rutgers' first win on the Wildcats' home floor.
• Rutgers' starting lineup consisted of Geo Baker, Montez Mathis, Ron Harper Jr., Eugene Omoruyi and Shaquille Doorson. The Scarlet Knights have utilized six different starting lineups this season. 

Postgame Quotes

Rutgers Head Coach Steve Pikiell

Opening Statement: "That was just two teams playing hard out there. I have a ton of respect for Coach Collins and his program. We just made a couple more plays tonight."

On the final stretch: "We wanted to play tough defense at the end without fouling. They made some big shots to keep themselves right where they needed to be. We just made a few big ones down the stretch. A couple big ones by Myles Johnson and Eugene Omoruyi. And Eugene had the clutch free throws at the end."

On Northwestern's offense: "Derek Pardon is a problem to guard, he gave us trouble when they played at our place. Vic Law is a problem to guard. I thought we did a good job on limiting Pardon and not letting him get the touches he wanted to get."

On Rutgers: "We have some young guys who play with heart. Today I thought we really defended well. Our freshmen made a lot of plays down the stretch. It was a tough, hard fought game. That's what you are going to get in this league. It just comes down to a couple possessions."

Sophomore Guard Geo Baker

"I thought we just had a little more fight down the end. We wanted to come here and get this one. This was a dogfight that could have gone either way. I'm just happy that tonight we came out with the win. We're a young team so every game is another step up. Guys continue to learn and get more experience, and that helps us a lot. This game will help the young guys a lot to get that experience. We'll be in that situation again in the future. We just focus on taking it one game at a time, and we'll continue to do that."

Northwestern Head Coach Chris Collins

"This is a disappointing loss. I thought we played very hard, it wasn't about our effort or attitude. And Rutgers played very hard as well, which they always do. That's a much improved, getting better by the game basketball team. They made a conscious effort to take away Derek Pardon. They were double-teaming him and smothering him. We got some good looks, but overall, we weren't able to make them pay for that. We had the look I wanted at the end with the guy I wanted taking it, it just didn't go in. And give (Eugene Omoruyi) credit, he made two big free throws."