In a game that featured two teams battling to keep their Big Ten Tournament hopes alive, Rutgers Basketball got the victory over Washington 89-85 in overtime.
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It was the little things that were the difference in a game that saw 17 lead changes and 10 ties as Ace Bailey came up big when he secured an offensive rebound to preserve Rutgers' 84-83 lead with 1:07 remaining before getting fouled and pushing it to a three-point game.
Free throws were key for Rutgers (13-14, 6-10 Big Ten) as it went 26-for-37 on the night, including one from Jeremiah Williams to make it an 88-85 game with 15 seconds remaining before Washington's Zoom Diallo missed a 3-pointer with four seconds left to all but ice the game.
It was the Dylan Harper show as he scored a game-high 34 points on 9-for-18 shooting and secured five rebounds along with three assists. Bailey was second on the team with 18 points and eight rebounds while Williams had 13 points, three rebounds, three assists, and three steals.
Washington (13-13, 4-10 Big Ten) appeared to be headed towards a win after Harper turned the ball over with 12 seconds remaining in regulation, but Williams came up with a steal on the inbounds pass and was fouled to send him to the line to take a possible one-point lead. Williams made the first free throw to tie the game at 81 but missed the second.
Rutgers had a chance to take the win after Washington knocked the ball out of bounds with nine seconds left after the missed free-throw, but Harper's 3-pointer was no good and the teams went into overtime.
It was a highly-contested game from the jump as neither side led by more than six points the entire night. Both teams also seemingly got whatever they wanted on offense as Rutgers finished 47 percent (27-for-57) from the field while Washington shot 52 percent (34-for-65).
Mekhi Mason finished with 20 points for Washington, but fouled out with 1:59 remaining in overtime which led to Bailey's free throw giving Rutgers an 84-81 lead.
Diallo recorded 20 points, five rebounds, and five assists while Great Osobor had 17 points, five rebounds, and four assists. Tyler Harris tallied 17 points and four rebounds.
The sides battled in a first half that saw seven lead changes and five ties before Williams sank a 3-pointer to send Rutgers into halftime up 42-39.
Both teams got their offense going early on as Rutgers shot 52 percent (13-for-25) from the field and 6-for-10 from three in the first half while Washington shot 55 percent (16-for-29) from the floor.
Harper led the way for Rutgers in the first half with 15 points on 5-for-8 shooting while Williams added seven points. The Scarlet Knights also worked their way to the free-throw line, going 10-for-14 from the stripe.
The Huskies had three players record double figures in the opening half as Mason led with 12 points while Osobor and Diallo had 10.
RHoops Play of the Day: Dylan Harper gets the lucky roll to tie the game at 34 with 2:53 left in the first half.
Up next: Rutgers will return to action when it faces USC at Jersey Mike's Arena on Sunday at 6 p.m. (ET) on FS1.
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