Rutgers Basketball started its season off strong as the 25th-ranked Scarlet Knights rolled past Wagner 75-52.
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Despite being without Ace Bailey due to an injury, Dylan Harper did a little bit of everything for Rutgers as he scored a game-high 20 points on 9-for-14 shooting with three rebounds, four assists, and three steals.
Lathan Somerville also began his collegiate career on the right foot as he tallied 11 points and eight rebounds while shooting 4-for-7 from the field.
PJ Hayes contributed double digits for the Scarlet Knights with 12 points on 4-for-6 shooting along with three rebounds.
Rutgers' defense also made life difficult for Wagner all night long as it forced the Seahawks to shoot 35 percent from the field (22-for-63) and 31 percent from three (5-for-16).
The Scarlet Knights were efficient from the field as they shot 51 percent (28-for-55) and had 40 points in the paint. It also recorded 29 bench points, 26 fastbreak points, and led by as much as 29 points following a 3-pointer from Tyson Acuff with 1:18 remaining in the game.
After falling behind 10-5 with 14:13 left in the first half, Rutgers took control of the game and used a 20-0 run to take a 25-10 lead with 3:35 remaining. The Scarlet Knights' defense also stepped up and forced Wagner into 17 consecutive misses and did not allow the Seahawks to score for nearly 11 minutes before going into halftime up 36-19.
Harper and Sommerville pioneered Rutgers's offense early on as they combined to score the team's first 12 points. Somerville also connected with a three to tie the game at 10 with 11:55 left in the first half.
Rutgers finished the half shooting 46 percent from the field with Harper leading the way with 10 points and three rebounds.
Sommerville scored nine of the team's first 16 points and pulled down five rebounds in the opening half.
RHOOPS PLAY OF THE DAY....
Jeremiah Williams slams it home to extend Rutgers' lead to 42-23 with 16:33 remaining in the second half and bring Jersey Mike's Arena to its feet.
UP NEXT....
Rutgers will return to action on Monday when it faces Saint Peter's at Jersey Mike's Arena at 7 p.m. (ET) on B1G+.
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