PISCATAWAY, N.J. – Steve Pikiell hit a major milestone on Thursday night at Jersey Mike's Arena.
The Rutgers men's basketball head coach became the sixth coach in school history to eclipse 100 victories when RU defeated Sacred Heart 88-50. Pikiell has achieved many "firsts" for RU nation and one of his longest-tenured players
Paul Mulcahy stood up at the postgame press conference to make sure his head coach got his accolades.
"That's a major achievement," the senior point guard said. "Coach Pikiell worked his tail off since he got here. He keeps getting better. He's always watching film. He's an incredible coach and he has done incredible things in the short time he's been here. I'm thankful he's, my coach. He doesn't talk about himself enough, but that's big time."
Pikiell is 100-91 as head coach in seven seasons. The Conn. native, who entered Year 7 at the helm at RU on Monday night thanked his athletic director for the opportunity and continued to commend his players over the years.
"I'm thankful that Pat Hobbs gave me this opportunity," Pikiell said. "It means I have good players. These guys are good players. It's on to the next, we got one day to prepare for the next one, so we'll enjoy it sometime. I'm glad, our guys played well today, it's the games in the middle of the week that you always worry about. They were really focused, and I'm pleased with that."
The Scarlet Knights had 19 team assists and 17 steals on the night. Senior forward
Aundre Hyatt (19) and freshman point guard Derek Simpson (11) both had career-highs in points. Hyatt shot 5-7 from the field and hit all seven of his free throw attempts. Hyatt hit a pair of three-pointers and had two steals. Hyatt was asked if he feels more confident on the court in his second season as a Scarlet Knight.
Gallery: (11-10-2022) Men's Basketball Beats Sacred Heart
"Yes, most definitely," Hyatt said. "This off season I realized that I have to get better. I really took pride in my catch and shoot and rebounding. I think those two aspects are going to help me out this season."
Simpson seemed to get more comfortable as the game went on. He notched a slam dunk at the end of the first half and had two more jams in the second half. He shot 5-10 from the floor, had three steals and two assists.
"He's getting better and better and better," Pikiell said. "If I put the first practice tape on, it wouldn't look like this, but he just keeps getting better. I'm really pleased with his progress, he gives us a gear and a speed that is important, and he shares the ball too. So, when he comes in he does a good job, and he's really learning how to prepare. Freshman year is tough, ask the older guys, it's not easy. He's doing a great job of staying focused on the court and giving us great energy."
Simpson, who had his entire family, and Lenape High School coaches in attendance on Thursday night, spoke about his confidence on the floor as a true freshman.
"It's been a great two games so far," Simpson said. "What's really been helping me are my teammates just telling me 'keep doing you, just keep that swagger that you've got, play defense and come in with some great energy' and that's what I've been doing and I feel like I'm doing a pretty good job."
Junior transfer Cam Spencer from Loyola Maryland was the teams second-leading scorer with 18 points and came alive during a 17-1 run in the first half. Spencer hit six shots and three shots from long distance. He grabbed seven rebounds, had six assists and three steals.
Junior center
Clifford Omoruyi had another great night with 17 points and seven rebounds. He was 8-13 on the night and drew double teams every time he touched the ball in the first half. Omoruyi had two steals and three blocked shots.
Mulcahy had another all-around game with four points, six assists, four steals and five rebounds. Forward
Mawot Mag had eight points, three rebounds and two steals. Pikiell talked postgame about the unit that he has out on the court so far.
"It looked pretty comfortable, didn't it? We got some answers coming off the bench, they give us energy, and I like the blend of veterans with the young guys," Pikiell said. "We got work to do, we're figuring stuff out. They share the ball, they pass the ball, and connect. Defensively, we were smart today against a team that really wants to score points."
With the Victory:
- Steve Pikiell earned his 100th win at Rutgers as the head coach. He is 100-91 as head coach in seven seasons.
- Pikiell is the sixth coach in Rutgers history to reach 100 wins at the helm of the Scarlet Knights (Tom Young: 239 wins, Frank Hill: 223 wins, Bob Wenzel: 128 wins, Bill Foster: 120 wins, Donald White: 105 wins).
- He is 297-265 all-time as a collegiate head coach, three wins away from 300 victories in his career at the Division I and Division III level.
- Rutgers has won all five lifetime matchups against Sacred Heart.
Team Notes
- After defeating Columbia by 40 points in the season opener, RU won game two of the season by 38 points.
- It marked the first time RU won back-to-back games by 30+ points since 2005-06, a 94-56 win over St. Thomas Aquinas (12/12/2005) and a 91-56 win over Maine (12/15/2005)
- It marked the first time RU won back-to-back games by 30+ points over two Division I opponents since the 1975-76 season, a 113-79 win over Lafayette (1/24/1976) and a 102-71 win over Pittsburgh (1/27/1976).
- The attendance was 8,000, the second sell-out of the season, the 11th straight sellout.
- Nine future games have already been called as sellouts (games against UMass Lowell, Rider, Indiana, Seton Hall, Wake Forest, Coppin State, Iowa, Ohio State and Michigan).
- Rutgers used a starting lineup of: Cliff Omoruyi, Paul Mulachy, Cam Spencer, Aundre Hyatt and Mawot Mag for the second straight game.
Individuals
- Cam Spencer became the first Rutgers player with back-to-back games of at least 15 points and three steals since Montez Mathis in November of 2020 (versus Sacred Heart and FDU).
- Aundre Hyatt had a career-high in points. It was his first time in his career with back-to-back double-digit point games.
