Noah Fernandes played a key role in helping Rutgers secure a 71-60 victory over Georgetown as he finished with 10 points and five rebounds. Despite his accomplishments, the fifth-year transfer was more interested in discussing the young Scarlet Knights and crediting their performances through the first three games.
"To see those guys hooping, never mind me, these young guys having the opportunity and taking it means a lot to me because it's a tough thing to do at that age," Fernandes said. "Rutgers nation should be excited because those dudes will hold it down for the next few years and give the country problems."
Fernandes also got it done on the defensive end as he added two steals for a Scarlet Knights squad that forced 21 turnovers. He also sunk a 3-pointer at the 16-minute mark in the second half to cap off an 11-0 run and extend Rutgers' lead to 54-36.
"That's kind of my role," he said. "They look at me running around and when they see my intensity on the floor hopefully that helps them too. I think part of my turning up in the second half was because of Jamichael Davis' energy and what he did, I just wanted to match that."
Wednesday night also marked the second game this season where Fernandes tallied double-digit points as he scored 10 in Rutgers' opening game against Princeton. Despite one of those performances coming in a loss, Fernandes credits his coaches and teammates for making his job easier so far.
"Every night these guys make it so easy since the day I got here," he said. "It's been easy coming into every game and my headspace is very clear. Obviously, you want to make as many shots as you can, but being a fifth-year and coming from a program where I didn't win a lot of games I just want to get to the tournament. These numbers are cool but I'm just happy to get that W every night and try to go home and get better the next day."
The Scarlet Knights enter Saturday's game against Howard looking to win its fourth straight and averaging 66.8 points along with 39.9 percent from the field. So, Fernandes explained that as long as they keep getting reps, the team will continue to gel on both sides of the ball.
"I think the game helps practices too because you get to watch the film, get more comfortable, and everybody gets to see their roles," he said. "I think the more games we play the more we can execute in practice which helps us."
In addition, while Fernandes believes their defense has been good so far, he still sees room for improvement.
"I think our intensity was good but our communication can get a little bit better," he said. "We're kind of getting through off of our principles right now, but I think the more we ramp up our communication we will become a way better defensive team."
Although the Scarlet Knights led from wire-to-wire against Georgetown, Dontrez Styles cut it to a one-point game with 1:13 left in the first half following a 3-pointer. Fernandes explained how the team used their previous experience to put the Hoyas away.
"I think last game Bryant went on a run to go up by three," he said. "So we talked about not panicking, staying together, and just playing."
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