PISCATAWAY, N.J. – Tuesday night marked the last game at Jersey Mike's Arena for fifth-year senior Caleb McConnell.

The wing played his final game of eligibility at Jersey Mike's Arena in front of a crowd of 5,100 fans. McConnell set the all-time record for steals at Rutgers collecting the pair of steals he needed to eclipse Eddie Jordan at the top of the list with 221 steals.

"That's a huge accomplishment," McConnell said. "I'm just proud of myself and just proud of the team that I had to be able to do that. I'm lucky. I think I'm lucky. Not everyone gets to do that at a school. I'm just just blessed to be able to stamp my name forever. Here at Rutgers, this place is definitely home. I just want my name stamped. We talked about these kids going to all these other schools and like Coach Pikell said I had plenty of choices to go anywhere. I chose the best place. I chose the best coach. I met great people and great family."

RU was defeated in overtime 88-86 by the Hofstra Pride in the first round of the NIT Tournament, hosting a game just a day and a half after being left out of the NCAA Tournament on Selection Sunday.

Fellow seniors and players who walked on Senior Night were Paul Mulcahy, Oskar Palmquist, Aundre Hyatt and walk-on Andrew Fulin. Mulcahy the fourth-year Scarlet Knight is 4^th all-time on RU's assist list and was McConnell's companion through all the big moments in their illustrious careers.

"I just wanted to congratulate Hofstra," head coach Steve Pikiell said. "They did a really good job. Speedy Claxton is a good coach.  They had us on one possession more, but they made some big plays down the stretch and would like to thank you guys for the whole season. This is a difficult day for me.  Just really want to talk about our four seniors. These guys came to our program didn't have a winning season four years ago. There were no sellouts. There was no practice facility. These guys in four years we've done nothing but win.  Four postseason bids. Caleb's national Defensive Player of the Year. He came to me really young and wasn't quite sure of himself. He leaves here as the all-time leader in steals. A record that was held forever by Coach (Eddie) Jordan and the National Defensive Player of the Year graduates."

McConnell finished with 13 points, five rebounds, three assists and two steals. Mulcahy had nine points, five assists and three rounds in the game. 

"Paul came here and we didn't have a winning record," Pikiell said. "Now he has taken us into four postseasons. I don't know if you guys know this, but 32 years of coaching. No senior has ever given gift certificates out to the managers or to the band. I mean, for him to even be thinking about those things. I've been around a lot of quality people.  He started his own foundation. One of the leading assist guys in the country came here and just wins."

"Pikell is the best coach in the country," Mulcahy said. He's an incredible person. You play a year here, you play whenever for him and he's got you for life. He believed in me when a lot of other people didn't. He has taken a lot of heat because of me, and he does it for everybody. He believes in all of us. He deserves it. Me and Caleb talked about it, he deserves all the things that he works for. Better than this, but he's going to get us to higher places and I'm so thankful that I got to play for him."

Scarlet Knights came out ready to play in the first round of the 2023 N.I.T. The Rutgers men's basketball team started the game on a 9-2 run. The team took a 40-35 lead into halftime fueled by senior Cam Spencer's three-point shooting. Spencer finished with  a team-high 22 points and six three-pointers.

A jumper at the end of regulation by the Hofstra Pride with two seconds remaining in regulation tied the game at 74 apiece and sent the match into overtime despite RU leading by five points with under 30 seconds left.

Hofstra outpaced the Scarlet Knights in the extended period shooting six-of-eight from the field and knocking down two huge three-point field goals. RU came up one possession short and was showered by a standing ovation for the seniors following the tough loss.

RU finishes the season (19-15).