The Garden State Hardwood Classic trophy is heading back to the RAC, as the Rutgers absolutely dominated Seton Hall today.
The Scarlet Knights opened the game on a 20-3 run and went on to beat the Pirates by a final score of 68-48.
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Rutgers Hoops head coach Steve Pikiell spoke with the press after today’s victory.
“What a great environment today," Pikiell told the media during his postgame presser. "We really were locked in today. Played a really good team, obviously, well-coached. I have a lot of respect for Seton Hall and coach (Kevin) Willard. I really wanna thank the community and the students that showed up - it’s finals this week so it’s a really crazy week. It’s a crazy week for our guys too. We were locked in today. I loved our defense from the opening tip. Every guy contributed. Every guy did what they needed to do. (We had) two days to prepare for a really good team so I was worried about that. We were locked in from the opening tip and we played really well on both ends of the floor"
New Jersey native and Scarlet Knights forward Ron Harper Jr. scored a game high 18 points, while shooting 7-of-16 from the field to earn MVP of the game.
“"It was unbelievable," Harper Jr. told the media. "Last year, we dropped this game and it was a hard-fought game. Being a jersey kid, this game meant a lot to me. And getting that win and pulling it out meant the world to me.”
One player who stood out among the rest was newly named captain Akwasi Yeboah. He stuffed the stat sheet against Seton Hall finishing with 14 points, 8 rebounds, two assists, two blocks and a steal, helping him to earn the TKR Player of the Game honors.
“He’s just mature," said coach Pikiell. "He gives us a maturity about him. He can really shoot the ball. I think he's as good a shooter as there is. We can post him , we can do a lot of different things. His maturity has really helped. He gets locked in, he comes to practice every day, they love him. I think these guys are really enjoying what he brings. He’s figuring it out too with a new team. He's been a nice addition."
Although the Scarlet Knight surpassed their season average in scoring today finishing with 68 points, it was their defense that led the way to victory.
Coming into today's game the Pirates were averaging 80.2 points per game, the Scarlet Knights held them to just 48 on the day.
““We only had two days, so you can't re-invent the wheel," Coach Pikiell said. "We were really connected on the defensive end. We had a lot of switches If we had to. I thought we were real aggressive in all our coverages. They got really good players. I don't think they got comfortable looks, a couple open threes which I didn't love — I thought for the most part we were really aggressive on that end of the floor. And everyone subbed in did a great job so we got a to of different looks for all their guards."
The Rutgers Hoops team now has 8 days off between now and their next game. The Scarlet Knights will welcome the Lafayette Leopards to the RAC next Sunday for a 1pm EST matchup.
