Dylan Harper etched his name into the history books as his buzzer-beating 3-pointer gave Rutgers a 66-63 victory against Seton Hall in the Garden State Hardwood Classic in Jersey Mike's Arena.
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After going into halftime trailing 33-27, Rutgers clawed back in the second half and took a 46-45 lead with 10:48 remaining following a layup from Dylan Harper. It marked the Scarlet Knights' first lead since Harper's three put it ahead 3-2 with 18:46 left in the first half.
From there, the sides battled until the bitter end, with Seton Hall cutting it to a 63-61 game with 19.3 seconds remaining following a layup from Isaiah Coleman. Coleman tied the game at 63 with 6.4 seconds remaining following a pair of free throws.
Rutgers finished the game shooting 53 percent (23-for-43) from the field but was held back by its free throw shooting as it went 13-for-28 from the line, including two missed attempts from Bailey that could have given the Scarlet Knights a two-possession lead with 17 seconds remaining.
Harper and Bailey combined for 45 points as Harper scored 24 points on 8-for-13 shooting while Bailey had 21 points and seven rebounds.
Coleman led Seton Hall with 15 points, including a three to give it a 57-56 lead with 3:31 remaining, but Ace Bailey responded with a three of his own to put Rutgers ahead 59-57 with 3:11 left. Lathan Sommerville extended Rutgers' lead to 61-57 with 1:41 to go.
Seton Hall shot 46 percent (26-for-56) from the field with Yacine Toumi adding 10 points The Pirates also cashed in on Rutgers' mistakes as they forced the Scarlet Knights into 15 turnovers and turned it into 15 points and scored 36 points in the paint.
Rutgers struggled defensively in the first half as it allowed 18 points in the paint and allowed Seton Hall to shoot 50 percent (14-for-28) from the field. Chaunce Jenkins led the Pirates with eight points and two rebounds.
Despite their defensive struggles, the Scarlet Knights were kept in the game by Bailey who scored 15 points on 7-for-9 shooting and five rebounds. Jordan Derkack hit a layup to cut it to an 18-15 game with 7:27 remaining in the first half, but Seton Hall responded with an 11-5 run to take its largest lead of the half, 29-20, with 4:19 left.
Rutgers finished the half shooting 50 percent (11-for-22) from the field but were plagued by mistakes as they turned the ball over 11 times leading to 11 points for the Pirates. Harper had a tough time getting anything going in the first half as he was held to six points on 2-for-5 shooting and three turnovers.
Rutgers got off to a sloppy start on offense as it hit just two of its first seven shots, turned the ball over seven times, and trailed 9-5 with 12:25 remaining in the first half.
Both teams struggled from the foul line in the first half as Rutgers went 3-for-9 while Seton Hall shot 2-for-7.
RHoops Play of the Day: Dylan Harper wins it for Rutgers with a buzzer-beating 3-pointer to give the Scarlet Knights a 66-63 victory.
Up next: Rutgers will return to action on Saturday when it faces Princeton in the Never Forget Tribute Classic at the Prudential Center at noon (ET) on FS1.
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