Box Score PISCATAWAY, N.J. – Head men's basketball coach
Steve Pikiell knew Saturday's afternoon matchup would be a tough one.
On one full day of rest, the Scarlet Knights overcame several obstacles to defeat the 9
th-oldest team in the country in UMass Lowell (2-1) to move to a perfect (3-0) on the season with a 73-65 victory.
Freshman Derek Simpson (16 points) and junior center
Clifford Omoruyi (22 points) posted career-highs to help secure the victory.
"I'm really happy. I knew this game would be difficult," Pikiell said. "I have known Pat Duquette for a while, his team is extremely experienced. His team has good guards and a big man who came from Pittsburgh. I told my guys we would face tremendous adversity in this game, and we did. We won the game at the free throw line and that's a great sign."
The team had 10 steals on Saturday marking the first time in nearly ten years that the Scarlet Knight posted 10-plus steals in three-straight games. The last time that happened for Rutgers was Dec.11-Dec. 21 of 2012.
Center
Clifford Omoruyi had his best half of his career with the Scarlet Knights, posting 15 points and nine rebounds in the first half. Omoruyi tied his career-high in points and had a career-high in rebounds (15) and grabbed seven offensive rebounds. Omoruyi played 36 minutes, had three blocks and shot (6-8) from the free throw line.
"Everybody is working together and we want to keep getting better and we want to keep winning," Omoruyi said. "Our goal is to make the NCAA Tournament and to do that we have to continue to play as a team."
"Any time you can find Cliff the ball, whether it be passing, shooting, rebounds or blocks, I know his play will be off the charts," Pikiell said. "We faced great guards and Cliff took advantage of his size. Especially not having Paul (Mulcahy) out there, these guys made great adjustments."
Mulcahy, the senior point guard exited the game at halftime after reaggravating a shoulder injury. Simpson was relied on more at the point guard position in the second half and had the best game of his three-game career. Of his 16 points, ten came from the free throw line as he made all of his attempts. Simpson played a career-high 33 minutes in the game and has been leaning on Mulcahy's advice as his opportunities continue to come.
"This has been a great opportunity," Simpson said. "My teammates have been there helping me out a lot, especially Paul (Mulcahy). He's been a great influence and has taught me a lot. He told me to get my teammates involved and I know that's extremely important."
Rutgers has 43 total rebounds on the night and grabbed 18 offensive rebounds leading to 23 second-chance points. The team caused 16 turnovers on ten steals. RU shot a clean 28-34 from the free throw line.
"We shot well the other day too," Pikiell said. "When (Derek Simpson) goes 10-for-10, you will have a great shooting night. We are a great free throw shooting team, that's something we take a lot of pride in. The team stepped up today and we needed that."
The Scarlet Knights had a balanced scoring attack with four players in double-digits. Guard Cam Spencer had 15 points, made all of his eight free throws and had three steals. He has 12 steals in his first three games at RU.
Forward
Aundre Hyatt had his third game in double digits this season with 12 points and a pair of three-pointers. He hauled in six rebounds and had three steals. Freshman Antwone Woolfolk played quality minutes and had four points, two assists and three rebounds. The Scarlet Knights were without senior guard/forward
Caleb McConnell (knee) for the third-straight game. McConnell hopes to be back to action soon.
UMass Lowell head coach Pat Duquette spoke about his team's hearty performance on the road after the game.
"It was a great atmosphere (and) a great opportunity for us to go against a really good Big Ten team who is well-coached and has had a lot of success in the last two years," Duquette said. "It was a lot of fun for our guys. I think we played well. I don't think we shot well, unfortunately. We fouled too much, but I thought the effort was there. We played well together, and we fought back all the way to the end, so I thought it was a pretty good effort."
Gallery: (11-12-2022) MBB Defeats UMass Lowell to Move to 3-0
Pikiell and company are thrilled to say the team is 3-0 heading into a matchup at the Mohegan Sun Arena against Temple in the Basketball Hall of Fame Classic on Friday in Connecticut.
"We want to keep getting better," Simpson said. "Every practice we want to keep building and building on each game. We won, but we are moving on and we have a great few challenges in the next few weeks. I am excited to do it all with my teammates."
"Everyone wants you to play every game and have it be a 45-point win and it's not reality," Pikiell said. "UMass Lowell is going to win 20 to 25 games this year. You hit adversity, injuries, Caleb's been out, today we had a freshman in this situation for the first time. Derrick (Simpson) played unbelievable, going 10-for-10 at the foul line. (Antwone) Woolfolk, the first time he's been in these types of games, Aundre (Hyatt) kept balls alive, he didn't play for us a ton last year. You know every year is a different journey. The veteran guys kind of understand how important every game is. But you're not going to play great every game that's part of the journey, we figured how to win today against a good basketball team. I'm pleased. Temple just beat Villanova so we will be tested there. If you keep climbing through obstacles and tests, we are in store for a great season."
