It was a thorough and complete performance from Rutgers basketball on Saturday night in a 70-63 win over rival Seton Hall. It is the kind of performance that Rutgers hopes they can build on with the heart of the Big Ten schedule fast approaching.
With the win, Rutgers is now 6-3 (0-1 Big Ten) on the season and they captured the Garden State Hardwood Classic Trophy, the annual rivalry trophy for their game against Seton Hall. It was the first time since 2013 that Rutgers beat Seton Hall at the Prudential Center (Newark, New Jersey).
It was a bit of a breakout performance for Cliff Omoruyi, who had 11 points, 13 rebounds and seven blocked shots. Noah Fernandes led all Rutgers scorers with 19 points.
Also encouraging was that Mawot Mag, in his first game of the year since suffering a season-ending injury last February, played 24 minutes.
Rutgers very much needed the win, following disappointingly lopsided losses against No. 24 Illinois and at Wake Forest. The Scarlet Knights raced out to a 12-5 lead early in the opening minutes of the game and took a 33-25 lead into halftime.
The big news from the night was the play of Omoruyi, who looked dominant and imposing on both ends of the court. This coupled with the return of Mag and Rutgers looked calmer and more composed on the court.
“When he plays like that, he is a problem. When we added some experience here another eight rebounds from Mawot and Cliff does a lot of great things,” head coach Steve Pikiell told reporters after the game.
“He had two straight days of great practices and really good leadership. I was proud of him. He is a problem when he plays like that and causes a lot of problems in the lanes when he blocks and alters a ton of shots.”
Scroll down and check out the best photos from Rutgers beating Seton Hall!