The Rutgers men's basketball team took care of business against Coppin State, 90-57, on Friday night at Jersey Mike's Arena in Piscataway.
The game was over almost from the tip.
Rutgers (9-4 overall) next takes its 1-1 Big Ten record quickly on the road on Monday against No. 1 Purdue at Mackey Arena.
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Rutgers, like it has all year, stifled Coppin State (5-12) on the defensive side of the court. The Eagles missed their first seven 3-pointers and turned the ball over XX times.
Center Cliff Omoruyi scored Rutgers' first six points as he couldn't be contained, and Cam Spencer made his first four triples for 12 early points. Rutgers used an 18-2 run in a span of five minutes to take control of the game. A pair of alley-oops and two long balls from Spencer highlighted the surge.
Spencer was a perfect 5-for-5 from three in the opening half as Rutgers built a 51-27 lead.
Coppin State used an 11-3 run to cut Rutgers' lead down to 16 points to begin the second half, but an Aundre Hyatt jump shot and a Paul Mulcahy easy layup put an end to the Eagles' chances after a Rutgers timeout.
The show continued with Antwone Woolfolk and Hyatt getting in on the slam dunk parade.
Omoruyi finished with 20 points and 13 rebounds and Spencer had 17 points, seven assists, three steals, and four rebounds. McConnell recorded a near-triple-double with nine points, 11 rebounds, and eight steals, while Woolfolk posted a 10-point night.
Spencer also notched his 1,000th career point in the contest.
The Scarlet Knights made by as many as 34 points and tallied 30 assists. The school record is 33.
Rutgers came in allowing just 54.3 points per game (sixth nationally) and is still holding all 12 opponents under their scoring average. The Scarlet Knights are 9-1 at home this year, 23-4 the last two years, 33-8 over the last three seasons, and 51-9 in the last four seasons.
Key stats:
3-point shooting -- The Eagles shot a ton of 3-pointers and didn't make them. Coppin was 0-7 to start the game from deep. Meanwhile, Rutgers began 4-of-5 with three makes coming from Spencer. Coppin ended up 6-for-31 from deep.
Rebounding -- Rutgers dominated Coppin on the glass, 53-27 including 17-1 on the offensive end. The Eagles entered as the worst rebounding team in the country out of 352 teams. Rutgers was physical without fouling.
Assists: Team basketball at its finest. Rutgers 29 assists on 33 made field goals.
Turning point: 18-2 run in the first half
Games aren't fully won in the first half especially early, but Coppin State had no chance. Rutgers came out firing on all cylinders on both ends of the court to take a 24-6 lead.
Rutgers player of the game: G Cam Spencer and C Cliff Omoruyi
It felt wrong to leave one out, so both Spencer and Omoruyi get the co-player of the game nod.
Omoruyi finished with 20 points and 13 rebounds and Spencer had 17 points, seven assists, three steals, and four rebounds.
RHoops play of the Day: Steal by Caleb McConnell led to a fast break bucket by McConnell. Spencer provided the unselfish assist.
Up next: Rutgers travels to No. 1 Purdue on Monday to resume Big Ten play the rest of the way. The Boilermakers are 13-0, and the game can be seen on BTN at 7:00 p.m. EST. Rutgers then returns home on Jan. 5 to take on Maryland night.
Follow Chris Nalwasky on Twitter @ChrisNalwasky.
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