PISCATAWAY, N.J. – The Rutgers basketball team continues to lean on its depth and experience in the early stages of 2023-24. 

The Scarlet Knights defeated Bryant 66-57 at the Jersey Mike's Arena in Piscataway, N.J.

The Scarlet Knights held the lead for 34:16 of regulation and came up clutch in the second half posting four consecutive defensive stops.

Grad forward Aundre Hyatt led the way with an early season-best 19 points with eight rebounds, two blocks, and two steals in 36 minutes.

Senior center Cliff Omoruyi posted his first double-double of the season via a 13-point and 15-rebound effort. His 15 boards tied a career-high. Sophomore guard Derek Simpson added 12 points while going eight-for-eight from the charity stripe. Simpson also dished out four dimes. 

In the opening half, both defenses stood tall and held each other to 37 percent shoot from the field. Rutgers led Bryant 29-25 at the break.

Coming out of the locker room at half, RU produced a quick 9-2 spurt highlighted by a pair of Omoruyi dunks and a Hyatt three-ball to push the lead 38-30.

The Bulldogs responded with an 8-0 run of their own, before a Rutgers 8-0 stretch regained a 49-44 advantage before the third media timeout.

The Scarlet Knights held the Bulldogs to just two points over the last 2:20 of the contest to advance to (2-1) this season.



Postgame Notes

• Aundre Hyatt (19 points) posted consecutive games of at least 15 points for the first time in his Rutgers career (he scored 17 on Friday vs. BU).
• The 19 points tied for the second most points scored by Hyatt in his career.
• Cliff Omoruyi (13 points, 15 rebounds) had his first double-double of the season and 21st in his career.
  • Omoruyi, who tied his career-high in rebounds, passed Kevin Black, Hamady Ndiaye, JR Inman and Jamal Phillips to move into 12th all-time at RU. 
• Rutgers' 51 team rebounds were its most rebounds since pulling down 53 vs. Coppin State on December 30 of last season. Rutgers has reached 50 rebounds in a game just twice in the last three seasons.
• Rutgers' 24 free throws made was its most made since making 28 from the charity stripe against UMass Lowell on November 12 of last season.
• Rutgers improved to 4-0 all-time against Bryant.

 
Postgame Quotes
 
Head Coach Steve Pikiell

Opening Statement:

"It's nice to be here at Jersey Mike's Arena. The crowd makes a huge difference and the fans we have here are special. A noon game is a little bit different, and I want to congratulate Bryant. Coach Phil Martelli Jr. is doing a great job and I think that team is going to win 20 games. I like their talent a ton. One day to prepare is tough and they didn't run any of their 1-2-2 zones, but our guys adapted and adjusted. I love that we were able to out-rebound them with 19 offensive rebounds. After the Princeton game, we really made a concerted effort to be a really good rebounding team. Obviously, that showed up tonight, but I have to give Bryant a lot of credit. I'm thankful we played a home game. I think I'm learning a lot about my team. Guys had to step up, Cliff [Omoruyi] went 8-for-8 from the free throw line, and he tied his career rebounding high. He really bounced back for sure. Aundre [Hyatt] has become a really good leader for us and a voice. We got tested today and that's good for us. It was a tough win, but I'm thankful for home games."
 
On second half adjustments:

"With Clifford [Omoruyi], when he has that great focus, especially being banged up in the last game, I thought he had really good real estate in the post. He's learning by watching film, but it all comes down to grabbing rebounds and being aggressive to attack the ball. Down the stretch when the ball came off the rim, Cliff was the guy to get the ball. When he is locked in like that, he keeps getting better. He does a really good job at being prepared, especially on one day's rest when your body is tired. Another quick turnaround for us, but we have a couple of days to prepare. Cliff's mentality today was mature and he's being a great leader. He was vocal and that's a good sign for us moving forward."
 
On Aundre Hyatt's performance:

"Aundre [Hyatt] has had terrific practices and he is also becoming very vocal. How about that block that came from the weak side? That was as big of a play as he could make in crunch time. He has become our leading scorer, a guy that we can really count on, and I love his voice and approach. Down the stretch, Hyatt also made big free throws. When you put the ball in his hands, he makes plays. He's getting better and better and he will help mold this team."
 
On Derek's defense against Gross-Bullock:

"We had a huge emphasis on that. Derek watched films on them. Gross-Bullock was the leading scorer of that league. He scored 39 points in games before, so you got a one-day prep on a really dangerous offensive player. He has some tendencies and I think we did a good job of making sure he didn't get in the lane. We were contesting shots. We were highly-focused on that. I think every year we can play a high scorer with one of those nights. [Rafael] Pinzon made some shots, but when you cut them in half like that, and you hold them to that percentage, Derek [Simpson] took care of business, Jamichael Davis guarded them, Noah [Fernandes] guarded them, Austin [Williams] guarded them, there were a lot of different guys that stepped up."
 
On Antwone Woolfolk's development

"We really like him. We've turned around our rebound in numbers by putting him in the mix today. When Cliff has foul trouble, he's going to get more minutes. He's been a really good player for us and he's going to have a really good year. The more he plays, the more swagger he has. He has some really good swagger and I want him to play with swagger because he can really score in the low post. He'll just keep getting better. He didn't get a lot of time last year, so he's kind of figuring it out in live time. Wolf has a good approach and he's going to have a really good year for us."

On the team's defense against threes:

"I thought our defense the whole time was really good. That team prides themselves on being one of the leading scoring teams in the country. They play at the fastest pace. Holding them to 57 was really good, but 6-for-23 was even better because they make threes. That's what they do. With one day of prep, we locked into the scouting report. The guys did a good job of identifying the guys that can shoot the basketball. We have to do that and then we can rebound and get crazy rebounds that come off of the rim with three-point shooters. That's what I'm most proud of. We track down some long ones and we do what we gotta do."
 
On the learning process with the points guards learning to feed the post:

"Every team guards the post differently, so you have to go through some of these games especially early on because you don't know how they are going to attack the post, especially early in the season because they haven't shown it on tape. Cliff has to be ready for everything. Our guys have to do a really good job of using ball fakes and that is a huge part of what we have been emphasizing. Guys on the perimeter haven't shot the ball great from the floor yet, but this team can really shoot the ball, so if they want to put 1-or-2 guys on Cliff we have to take advantage of the opportunities that we have. The one thing that these guys do is learn a lot from film and how teams play. 

On huge stretches down the game:

"I told the guys that when it was "win time" we got four straight stops. We grabbed the rebound and they weren't able to score. I think we learned from Princeton, when it was win-time we didn't get any stops. Even the games that you don't play great in, when it is win time you figure out how to win. I'm proud that these guys went up and grabbed big rebounds and made big free throws. That's what it takes sometimes to learn how to finish it off. We did that today and it was a good learning experience. This will help us moving forward."
 
Derek Simpson

On his big second half:

"In the second half we went into the locker room and told each other that we were fine and to keep getting stops and stay together regardless of the situation. We stuck together. Free throws were a huge issue in the first half, but in the second half we locked in, made free throws, got stops and we got it rolling."
 
Clifford Omoruyi

On his big second half:

"The first half I got into some foul trouble and Coach Pikiell told me that in the second half to not commit anymore fouls. So my teammates just encouraged me to keep playing and the momentum kicked it and we got it going."
 
Aundre Hyatt

On his mental preparation for games

"I get a lot of support and my coaches and my teammates instill a lot of confidence in me. Having that everyday on a daily basis helps and gets me prepared."