Friday, December 23
Piscataway, N.J.
5 p.m.
Bucknell University
7-6,0-0Patriot
50
at
85
Rutgers
8-4,1-1Big Ten
1
2
F
Bucknell
26
24
50
Rutgers
44
41
85
Bucknell Finishes Non-Conference Play with Loss at Rutgers
12/23/2022 7:10:00 PM | Men's Basketball
PISCATAWAY, N.J. – Clifford Omoruyi recorded 17 points, 14 rebounds, and six blocked shots to lead Rutgers to an 85-50 win over visiting Bucknell on Friday night at Jersey Mike's Arena. Xander Rice scored 13 points to lead the Bison, who closed out the non-conference portion of the schedule with a 7-6 record.
Rutgers, now 8-4 overall and 8-1 at home, including a 63-48 win over No. 8 Indiana, came into the game ranked in the top-12 nationally in scoring defense, field-goal percentage defense, 3-point percentage defense, and steals. The Scarlet Knights showed off that defense in this one, holding a Bison team that came in shooting 50.1 percent on the season to 31.0 percent from the field and 7-for-25 from the 3-point arc.
Ian Motta joined Rice in double figures with 10 points, and Andre Screen finished with nine points and eight rebounds. Caleb McConnell recorded 14 points and seven assists for Rutgers, which shot 49.3 percent overall despite a 3-for-15 night from the arc.
"We certainly did not play our best tonight, and Rutgers is just too talented to have an off night against," said head coach Nathan Davis. "This was a tough travel week coming off of finals against two very good opponents, so I'm happy that our guys will get a nice break to spend some time with their families for a few days. We will put tonight's game behind us, and we're all looking forward to focusing on the start of Patriot League play."
Omoruyi scored on an alley-oop dunk right off the opening tip as the Scarlet Knights got going early. The hosts started 11-for-15 from the field while holding Bucknell to 3-for-14, and four straight points from Aundre Hyatt gave Rutgers a 27-9 lead.
Bucknell answered with a 6-0 spurt on buckets from Motta, Alex Timmerman, and Rice, but one of Omoruyi's six first-half dunks ignited a 15-4 run that gave Rutgers a 42-19 cushion. Rice had a 4-point play and another 3-pointer in the final 1:13 of the half, bringing the Bison within 44-26 at the break.
Bucknell had better ball movement at the outset of the second half but simply could not get anything to drop. The Bison were 2-for-16 overall and 0-for-8 from the arc in the first 10 minutes, despite a number of wide-open looks from the perimeter. Rutgers was also cold coming out of the locker room, starting 3-for-10 before hitting three straight shots to go up 58-30.
The Bison finally got a few 3-pointers to fall late in the game, but Rutgers went on to lead by as many as 37 in the first meeting between the two teams since 2000.
Bucknell will take a few days off for the Christmas holiday before prepping for the Dec. 30 Patriot League opener at Holy Cross.
Rutgers, now 8-4 overall and 8-1 at home, including a 63-48 win over No. 8 Indiana, came into the game ranked in the top-12 nationally in scoring defense, field-goal percentage defense, 3-point percentage defense, and steals. The Scarlet Knights showed off that defense in this one, holding a Bison team that came in shooting 50.1 percent on the season to 31.0 percent from the field and 7-for-25 from the 3-point arc.
Ian Motta joined Rice in double figures with 10 points, and Andre Screen finished with nine points and eight rebounds. Caleb McConnell recorded 14 points and seven assists for Rutgers, which shot 49.3 percent overall despite a 3-for-15 night from the arc.
"We certainly did not play our best tonight, and Rutgers is just too talented to have an off night against," said head coach Nathan Davis. "This was a tough travel week coming off of finals against two very good opponents, so I'm happy that our guys will get a nice break to spend some time with their families for a few days. We will put tonight's game behind us, and we're all looking forward to focusing on the start of Patriot League play."
Omoruyi scored on an alley-oop dunk right off the opening tip as the Scarlet Knights got going early. The hosts started 11-for-15 from the field while holding Bucknell to 3-for-14, and four straight points from Aundre Hyatt gave Rutgers a 27-9 lead.
Bucknell answered with a 6-0 spurt on buckets from Motta, Alex Timmerman, and Rice, but one of Omoruyi's six first-half dunks ignited a 15-4 run that gave Rutgers a 42-19 cushion. Rice had a 4-point play and another 3-pointer in the final 1:13 of the half, bringing the Bison within 44-26 at the break.
Bucknell had better ball movement at the outset of the second half but simply could not get anything to drop. The Bison were 2-for-16 overall and 0-for-8 from the arc in the first 10 minutes, despite a number of wide-open looks from the perimeter. Rutgers was also cold coming out of the locker room, starting 3-for-10 before hitting three straight shots to go up 58-30.
The Bison finally got a few 3-pointers to fall late in the game, but Rutgers went on to lead by as many as 37 in the first meeting between the two teams since 2000.
Bucknell will take a few days off for the Christmas holiday before prepping for the Dec. 30 Patriot League opener at Holy Cross.
Team Stats
Buck
RU
FG%
.310
.493
3FG%
.280
.200
FT%
.700
.889
RB
34
43
TO
15
3
STL
3
9
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
13
FGM
5
3FGM
2
FTM
1
Pts
9
FGM
3
3FGM
0
FTM
3
Pts
5
FGM
2
3FGM
1
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
G
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