Rutgers Basketball survived Notre Dame 85-84 in its opening game at the Players Era Festival in Las Vegas. The Scarlet Knights outlasted the Fighting Irish in a back-and-forth game that came down to the final second.
Star freshman Dylan Harper led the way for Rutgers as he has all year long, scoring a career-high 36 points and coming through on countless possessions getting to the rim and setting up teammates with six rebounds and six assists.
Notre Dame was without leading scorer Markus Burton for all but three minutes after suffering a leg injury early on, but Braeden Shrewsberry and Princeton transfer Matt Allocco made up for the lost production. Shrewsberry led the Irish with 16 points on 6-for-20 shooting from the floor taking over as the primary scorer.
Allocco racked up a double-double with 24 points and 10 rebounds, including countless clutch threes late in the second half and in overtime. He single-handedly brought Notre Dame back into the game and tied it late.
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Notre Dame was able to control the game early on with strong rebounding and three-point shooting, opening up a double-digit lead late in the first half. However, a Steve Pikiell timeout got the team back in gear, as the Scarlet Knights were able to trim the lead to just a point going into the locker room.
The Fighting Irish shot 7-for-17 from the three-point line in the opening 20 minutes while opening up a 24-13 rebounding edge.
Ace Bailey also struggled to start the game, scoring just 3 points on 1-for-5 from the floor, with his lone bucket coming off an offensive rebound and putback.
Early in the game Burton got injured on a layup attempt, where Emmanuel Ogbole landed directly on his leg and forcing him to miss the rest of the night. Shrewsberry filled in with 12 first-half points on 4-for-10 shooting from the floor.
The second half got off to a frenetic pace as the teams stayed within two possessions for nearly the entire half. Rutgers continued to fight back but Notre Dame kept hitting big shots.
With under seven minutes to play, the Irish hit two consecutive three-pointers to trigger a Steve Pikiell timeout.
From there, the defense clamped down. The Fighting Irish went on a scoring drought of almost five minutes as the Scarlet Knights went on a 9-0 run, capped off by a Jordan Derkack dunk and a Harper three-point play.
The two teams continued to trade blows into the final minute. Allocco hit a layup to give Notre Dame a lead with a minute to play, but Bailey overcame his struggles and hit a crucial go-ahead midrange jumper with under 50 seconds left.
Allocco missed on the ensuing possession, and two Derkack free throws extended the lead to three. Allocco marched down the floor and hit an impressive three with eight seconds left, setting up a game-winner situation for the Scarlet Knights. Harper's pull-up three drew nothing but air and sent the game to overtime.
The overtime period was similarly back-and-forth until the final minute, where Rutgers opened up a five-point lead thanks to a Jeremiah Williams three off a cross-court pass by Harper, and a steal by Tyson Acuff leading to a Derkack score.
Allocco scored nine points in a 30-second stretch to get the Irish into a tie game with under 10 seconds to play, but an inexplicable backcourt foul by Cole Certa gave Harper a chance to take the lead. He hit one of two free throws with four seconds to play, setting up a potential game-winner, but Allocco's fallaway three did not fall at the buzzer.
RHOOPS PLAY OF THE NIGHT
Dylan Harper crosses over through the teeth of the defense and draws a go-ahead three-point play.
UP NEXT?
The Scarlet Knights will be back in action once again in under 24 hours, as they face off against No. 9 Alabama, fresh off an overtime win over Houston. The game is scheduled to tip off at 10:00 pm EST and will be broadcast on TBS.
With both teams winning tonight, the victor between the Scarlet Knights and Crimson Tide will lock up a spot in the inaugural Players Era Championship Game.
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