PISCATAWAY, N.J. — Sophomore forward Dylan Grant scored a game-high 28 points and Rutgers used a dominant second half to pull away for an 84–72 win over Lehigh on Friday night at Jersey Mike's Arena.

Grant shot 9-for-15 from the field and 9-for-10 at the free-throw line, pacing a Rutgers offense that shot 50.8 percent overall and outscored Lehigh 42–24 in the paint. Emmanuel Ogbole delivered a double-double with 16 points and 10 rebounds, including eight offensive boards, as the Scarlet Knights improved to 3–0.

Rutgers led 41–34 at halftime and built its largest lead, 13, after a Jamichael Davis three-pointer made it 53–40 with 14:11 left. The Scarlet Knights controlled the glass throughout the night, finishing with a 45–26 rebounding advantage and 15 second-chance points.

Davis added 14 points, four assists, and two steals, while Darren Buchanan Jr. chipped in five points and eight rebounds off the bench. Rutgers' depth contributed 18 bench points.

Lehigh (1–3) stayed within reach behind a strong night from guard Nasir Whitlock, who scored 21 points and went 5-for-6 at the free-throw line. Joshua Ingram hit four threes and finished with 14 points, and Hank Alvey posted 12 points and six rebounds.

The Mountain Hawks knocked down nine three-pointers but were outmatched inside, where Rutgers repeatedly attacked the rim and generated 26 second-half points in the paint.

Rutgers returns to action next week on Tuesday against American at 6:30 p.m. , seeking a 4–0 start.

Postgame Notes

• Junior center Emmanuel Ogbole had a career-high 16 points.
• Sophomore forward Dylan Grant had the best offensive half of his career in the first half with 18 points and a career-high 28 points.
• Freshman Chris Nwuli scored the first basket of his college career on an alley-oop dunk in the first half.
• Rutgers moved to 70-36 all-time against Lehigh, dating back to the first meeting in 1907.
• RU has won 20 of the past 21 meetings against Lehigh dating back to 1967.
• Head coach Steve Pikiell collected his 150^th victory at RU.

Coach Pikiell Opening Statement:

"Thank you guys for coming on this Friday night. First off, we definitely need to improve in some areas — a lot of work to do — but I'm really proud of these guys. These two guys, Emmanuel Ogbole and Dylan Grant, came back better, and you saw that today.

Emmanuel was awesome: 16 points, 10 rebounds, two assists, and a blocked shot. I know people talk about him a lot, but I'm telling you, this guy just works. That's what I love about him. He's great in screen coverage — he faced a lot of screens tonight — and nobody ever talks about that. But tonight he made post moves, dunks, the whole nine yards.

It was great to have Chris [Nwuli] come in and help us. How about those first two points of his career? Not bad at all.

Dylan Grant has been rebounding, he's been getting to the rim — 28 points — and we needed all of them. It's a good Lehigh team that played Houston really well. I watched the second half of that Houston tape, and the West Virginia tape, and they outplayed both of those teams in the second half. I was nervous, honestly, because they have good offensive players and 11 returning players — second most in the country — and Brett [Reed] does an awesome job.

Overall, a good win. Great crowd. It was live in the arena, and we're excited to be 3–0."

On Emmanuel Ogbole's Impact:
"It's a huge difference now. He has 25 rebounds in three games — that's huge. He works and he's a big presence around the basket. He challenges shots and he's starting to blend with his teammates. I love that people don't see him every day, because he gets better and better, and it's starting to show. Between him and Bryce [Dortch] coming off the bench and scoring seven points, I'm really happy for E."

On Dylan Grant's Performance:
"He's been great all year long. You can see the improvement from guys who come back and work. He handles the ball now, can score in a lot of different ways, and really helps our team.

The first day it was Riq's day, the next it was Dennis' day, and now it's DG and E today. That's the kind of team we have to be — everyone has to be ready. Our bench gave us some really good minutes today, and we have to continue to improve there.

Dylan is one of those guys who gets better each day. He's very unique: he shoots threes, he can put it on the floor, we can post him, and he's getting a little bit better on the defensive end (laughs). Very proud of him."

On How Rutgers Closed the Game:
"Yeah, it was tough. They went to Houston, who is either number one or number two, and when you watch the second half of that game, Houston — who I respect a ton — had their hands full. Then you go into West Virginia and play a team like that, it's tough.

You're always worried about teams like Lehigh with 11 returning players. They were running plays from last year while we're still figuring out what we're doing. But we're happy to be 3–0. It was a good environment, we took another step forward, out-rebounded them by plus-20 or so, and we're starting to get the presence solved. It's working."

On the Team Gelling:
"I still think we're a work in progress. But when you have different guys who can get you 20 — and I think we have a lot of guys who can — that helps. JMike logs a ton of minutes and he was a plus-18. He does a lot for us, and his offense has improved a ton.

We put up a lot of points. We wanted to keep that team in the 60s — I thought that was a reasonable goal — and we didn't do what we needed to on that end. But we made free throws and we're improving in some areas.

We still have to come together with rotations and everything. It's the first three games, so you're going to work through a lot early."

On the Team Still Being a Work in Progress:
"We have 10 new guys, so you want to gel from day one, even though freshmen have it rough with those jitters. Chris didn't look jittery tonight. He was good and ready to go — hit a huge three, got a couple assists, blocked a shot. Some of these guys have to work through the newness and we have to be patient as we evolve our rotation.

We didn't shoot the ball well today. We shot it well in our scrimmages and our first two games. To win without shooting the three well is a good sign. We've got to keep getting better."

On Improved Rebounding:
"One thing they know — we talk about it all the time — is that the backboards are huge, and we haven't been a good rebounding team the last couple of years. We started in June. Dylan had a double-double last game — that's a huge part of it. Chris will be one of our best rebounders moving forward. He can really go get it.

We have to be a good rebounding team. We shot the ball well tonight, so there weren't as many offensive rebounds to get, but when you shoot 50 or 54 percent, that's part of it. Our guards stuck their noses in there too. Riq had six rebounds, JMike had four — that's 10 from our backcourt. That's a really good sign."

On Scoring 42 Points in the Paint:
"We were getting downhill. I think we did a really good job. I didn't want to settle for threes. We got E on a few post plays, and he finished. Dylan is a matchup problem. We're playing him at the three spot — he guards smaller guys, and smaller guys guard him — so we have to keep utilizing those advantages.

We got into the lane, made plays, and when you get extra ones off the backboard, that helps your percentages too."

On Switching Chris Nwuli Onto Whitlock:
"Chris and Darren Buchanan Jr. can sit down and guard any position. Sometimes you just want some length on guys who are getting in the lane and causing havoc. Whitlock was averaging seven points — he had a heck of a night — but we can put our size on guards because our guys can stay in front.

Darren's lateral quickness is as good as anyone on our team. So we'll continue to mix it up. When teams get comfortable in matchups, you put some size on them. Chris did a good job for us there."