PISCATAWAY, N.J. – The Rutgers men's basketball team lost it's third consecutive game on an opponent's game-winning shot in the final seconds on Saturday.
Junior guard Paul Mulcahy hit a floater in the lane with five seconds remaining in the game to give RU an 83-82 lead. On the next play, UMass junior guard Noah Fernandes hit a three-pointer at the buzzer to send the Scarlet Knights home with an 85-83 defeat from the Mullins Center.
"The kid makes a heck of a play, and I thought it was well-guarded too, Head coach Steve Pikiell said. "Mawot (Mag) did a good job of challenging it, contesting it, and it went in."
RU had it's best half of the season in the first, where the team scored a season-high 46 points and had a 12-point lead heading into the break.
The Scarlet Knights also had their best all-around offensive performance of the season scoring a season-high of 83 points without Geo Baker who was ruled out in a game-time decision.
"The offensive end didn't hurt us today," Pikiell said. "It was strictly getting stops. It comes down to a one-possession game and our defense didn't help us at all down the stretch…Obviously you miss a guy like Geo in a late-game situation"
The Minutemen shot 50 percent on three-pointers and knocked down 16 shots from behind the arc in the game.
Senior guard C.J. Kelly led the way for UMass with 24 points on five three pointers and grabbed four rebounds. Fernandes scored 16 points in the game, while knocking down eight free throws. He was able to make plays off the dribble with a game-high 11 assists.
"We've lost three games by one possession," Pikiell said. "We haven't been able to finish them. You're right, and hold those expectations against me too, guys. Because I really believe in this team. This team is going to keep working and we're going to figure this out."
Below are a few thoughts from Saturday's game in Amherst, Mass.
Cliff Omoruyi had a career-game
Pikiell has been wanting center Clifford Omoruyi to be a force from start-to-finish of games after showing brilliance in many moments for the Scarlet Knights this season.
The big man scored 13 points in the first half, a high in any half of his career as a Scarlet Knight.
He also tied his career-high in points for a game (16) and field goals made (seven) on Saturday. Omoruyi shot 7-for-9 from the field and added eight rebounds and one block.
Big Cliff continued to show off his ability to leap above defenders and dunk the basketball with efficiency.
Dominating in the paint
Omoruyi set the tone early and the Scarlet Knights as a team dominated around the basketball in Saturday's game.
RU outscored the Minutemen 50-12 and out-rebounded the Minutemen 36-24.
The unit showed off great shot selection and was 34-of-62 from the field as a whole.
The Scarlet Knights had a season-high with 25 team assists in the game.
25 assists marks the highest team assists total for any Pikiell-coached Rutgers team and is the highest total since the Scarlet Knights had 24 team assists against Central Connecticut in Dec. of 2016.
That total number of team assists is also the most for a Rutgers team since November of 2011 when the Scarlet Knights had 27 against UMBC.
Six players in double-digits
The Scarlet Knights had a season-high of players scoring double figures in a game with six on Saturday.
Freshman Jaden Jones was awarded his first career start in the absence of Baker and took advantage of his minutes. Jones had a career-high 11 points and continued to show promise for the future of Rutgers men's basketball.
Graduate student Ralph Gonzales-Agee had a season-high of 14 points, his best for the Scarlet Knights in just 13 minutes on the court.
Forward Mawot Mag had a career-high with 12 points in 22 minutes.
Mulcahy played well handling the ball full-time without Geo Baker on the floor. The junior had 11 points, six assists, five rebounds and one turnover. Ron Harper Jr. had 11 points in the game.
McConnell's all-around performance
Senior Caleb McConnell had career-highs in both assists (nine) and steals (six) on Saturday.
The senior helped set the tone in the first half to help RU get out in front early.
McConnell added six points and six rebounds on the day.
Up next
The Scarlet Knights will return to Jersey Mike's Arena on Tuesday night to take on a familiar opponent in the Clemson Tigers at 9:00 p.m. on ESPN2. RU of course beat Clemson 60-56 last March in the 2020-21 NCAA Tournament to give the program it's first victory in the big dance since 1983.
"We've got a long season," Pikiell said. "I told you guys I like this team. I always tell you how I feel about them. We work hard in practice, we were well-prepared for this game. Now I'm blending in a new lineup without Geo Baker. But if we keep playing the way we played together, we'll be fine."
