Tuesday, November 14, 2021 | 7:00 p.m.
Jersey Mikes Arena | Piscataway, N.J.
TV: BTN+ (Pxp: Dom Savino, Color: Nick Kosko)
Radio: Rutgers Sports Properties Radio Network (WCTC 1450 AM/WOR 710 AM; Jerry Recco and Austin Johnson), WRSU 88.7 FM
PISCATAWAY, N.J. - Rutgers men's basketball (0-0, 2-0) is back in action on Tuesday night at Jersey Mike's Arena following a 48-35 victory over Merrimack College on Saturday.
RU will face NJIT (1-1) at 7:00 p.m. and look to keep the undefeated streak going for the third consecutive matchup in front of the home fans.
The Scarlet Knights held Merrimack to just 12 points in the second half and relied on a 24-6 run out of the halftime break to defeat the Warriors on Saturday.
Scouting NJIT
The NJIT men's basketball team has already faced both opponents that the Scarlet Knights defeated this season.
The Highlanders lost 61-54 to Merrimack College on Thursday, Nov. 11 at home and went on to beat Lehigh on the road 73-56 on Saturday night.
NJIT relied on the three ball in the matchup against Lehigh.
They made 5-of-7 three-point shots in the first half on Saturday. Senior guard
Dylan O'Hearn was 3-for-4 beyond the arc in the opening 20 minutes, while senior forward
Miles Coleman was 2-of-3.
In the second half the Highlanders continued their hot shooting. Head coach Brian Kennedy's squad shot 9-15 from three-point range to finish off the effort.
The Scarlet Knights will have to key in on O'Hearn, who led all scorers with 23 points on the night. The senior point guard knocked down nine free throws in the game as he was able to penetrate the Mountain Hawks defense that he seemed to attack from inside-out.
Junior guard James Lee scored 17 points on 5-6 shooting and added six rebounds. Coleman finished with 15 points to go along with a game-high seven rebounds.
Key to victory
The Scarlet Knights will have to look to resurrect the second half perimeter defense that they showed off against Merrimack.
Head coach
Steve Pikiell would like to see his team show off the defensive effort from start to finish against NJIT. Perimeter defense has been an early season focus for Pikiell and his staff in practice after the home-opener against Lehigh where the Scarlet Knights needed the overtime period for a 73-70 victory.
"It was a good second half for us against Merrimack," Pikiell said. "We held that team to 12 points. I love it. The ball wasn't going in, but we figured out a way to defend. We worked on that for two days talking about our defense. It wasn't up to par against Lehigh. And we had 11 straight stops in this game."
Key performers of late
Ron Harper Jr. continues to be one of the most consistent Scarlet Knights on the floor as he led the team with 13 points scoring the the 51
st time in his career on Saturday. The senior also locked in his second double-double of the season.
The Scarlet Knights saw some huge production off the bench in the second half from freshman
Jaden Jones and senior
Aundre Hyatt. The pair combined for 18 points and hit big shots in clutch moments to overcome a 7-point deficit at halftime. Jones had a career-high 10 points in the game.
Forward Clifford Omoruyi had another eye-opening performance with 11 points, ten rebounds on Saturday.
Up Next
The basketball team will head to Chicago for their first road game of the season against DePaul on Thursday at 7 p.m.
