INSTANT RECAP: Rutgers men's basketball tops Stephen F. Austin
PISCATAWAY, N.J. – The Rutgers men’s basketball team used a scoring burst in the middle of the second half to help defeat Stephen F. Austin, 69-57, on Wednesday night at the Rutgers Athletic Center.
With the win, the Scarlet Knights improved to 4-1 on the young season.
Rutgers led from start to finish, but the Lumberjacks (4-1) whittled down the deficit to four point in the second half to keep the game close. However, the home team used a 12-0 run to take a 16-point, 50-34 lead with 10:14 to go. Rutgers would hold on from there.
It was a good turnaround game for the Scarlet Knights after losing to St. Bonaventure in Toronto on Saturday.
Wednesday marked the first time Rutgers and SFA met on the hardwood.
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THE GOOD — 3-POINT SHOOTING/TAKEAWAYS/MAMADOU DOUCOURE
Rutgers was on fire from deep early and led 8-0 thanks in part to 3-pointers from Caleb McConnell and Ron Harper Jr. At one point, Rutgers was 6-of-12 on shots from beyond the arc. From the floor in the opening 20 minutes, it shot 52 percent. It ended up shooting 49 percent from the field over the course the entire game and 40 percent from deep. While Rutgers itself played sloppily at times (more on that below), the Scarlet Knights also forced SFA to turn the ball over a bunch as well including getting a 10-second call and a 5-second call. Rutgers used a little full court press at times. SFA had 19 turnovers. Center Mamadou Doucoure saw extensive action with 12 minutes, and was tough in the paint with solid defense.
THE BAD — GEO BAKER/TURNOVERS/SFA PTS IN PAINT
Baker wasn't on his game and didn't score a point in the opening half as he was 0-for-3. He also finished with five turnovers, but did muster nine points after the break, though. Coming into the game, Stephen F. Austin led the country forcing 27.5 turnovers per game and the Lumberjacks' strength in that area showed up as they made the Scarlet Knights commit 13 alone in the first half and 19 in the contest. Going forward, Rutgers must work on defending the inside scoring, too.
PLAY OF THE GAME: There were multiple plays that stood out from both teams in the game, but the tough 3-pointer from Rutgers guard/forward Ron Harper Jr. is the top play. While it wasn't ideal for Harper to take the ball up and hang on to it for a long time as his teammates didn't come to help, he was able to bank a shot off the backboard from behind the arc. The basketball Gods were good to the Scarlet Knights for once.
GAME BALL — G/F Caleb McConnell
McConnell was hit a with a technical foul near the end of the first half after he flexed his muscles after coming down with a strong rebound which he converted for the put-back layup, but we give him a pass. He finished with a team-high 16 points, six rebounds, two assists, a steal, and a really good +/- with a +16. He was 5-of-9 from the field including 3-for-5 from deep. McConnell is quietly one of the better players on the team and is underrated by some, but not us.
UP NEXT: Rutgers stays in town to face in-state foe NJIT on Tuesday at 7:00 p.m. You can watch it live on BTN (Big Ten Network).
