Mathis, Johnson, Baker, Omoruyi lead Rutgers hoops to big win over Nebraska
PISCATAWAY, N.J. -- The Rutgers men’s basketball team snapped a three-game losing skid by topping Nebraska, 76-69, at the Rutgers Athletic Center on Monday night.
With the win, the Scarlet Knights improved to 9-9 overall and 2-6 in Big Ten Conference play.
Here’s the gist of what went down at the RAC...
THE GOOD: DEFENSE, FREE THROWS, AND PAINT DOMINATION
1) Just when it seemed like Rutgers was going to get run out of its own building, the home team went on an outstanding 15-0 run making 7-of-9 field goals along the way to go up 33-31 with 1:56 remaining in the first half. More on how Rutgers got down in the first place can be read in the section below. The Scarlet Knights turned up the defense and forced the Cornhuskers to four turnovers and into a drought for nearly four minutes. Rutgers was able to drive to the hoop and convert on a pair of and-ones by Montez Mathis and Eugene Omoruyi.
2) Free throws (!). Believe it or not, but Rutgers shot 100 percent from the foul line in the first half. The Scarlet Knights went 7-for-7 at the line courtesy of three makes each by Peter Kiss and Omoruyi and one by Mathis. Rutgers hit on its first eight and finished 65 percent with a bevy of players going to the line near the end.
3) Domination may be a strong word here, but 51 percent of Rutgers’ scoring came inside the Scarlet red paint on the court. Rutgers made 32 layups, six dunks, and Shot 44.3% from the floor.
THE BAD: TURNOVERS
1) Rutgers has continually beaten itself this season with turnovers and that remained the same against Nebraska. The Scarlet Knights didn’t take care of the ball at all - especially in the first 20 minutes of play - as they had 13 alone in the first half. Rutgers held early leads of 12-10 and 14-12, but the Cornhuskers went on a 19-4 run to go up by 13 points at 31-18. During the run, Rutgers had seven turnovers with many of them being bad passes. Credit for the Scarlet Knights only committing two after the break.
GAME BALLS: MONTEZ MATHIS, GEO BAKER, and EUGENE OMORUYI
Mathis continued to show his former four-star status and used his athletic ability and body control to drive to the hoop on a consistent basis. He finished with a team-high 20 points for the Scarlet Knights. Omoruyi deserves a game ball for playing less than two weeks after dislocating his left knee cap -- again. Omoruyi fought through 25 minutes, scored eight points and pulled down six rebounds. Baker’s play also warranted a game ball in this one. He’s had some tough games against better competition of late, but he came through on Monday night and played well. Baker was not only aggressive, but the sophomore’s jump shot was on point, too. He had 16 points with 13 coming in the second half.
Honorable mention goes to redshirt freshman center Myles Johnson, who broke the 1-3-1 press and notched a double-double with 13 points and 11 rebounds.
UP NEXT: Rutgers is set to travel out to Pennsylvania for a Saturday afternoon matchup against Penn State at 4:30 p.m.
