Rutgers men's basketball loses close overtime battle to Northwestern
The Rutgers men’s basketball team suffered a 79-78 loss to Northwestern in a game that turned into an overtime thriller. The Scarlet Knights (12-9, 6-5) now fall to 2-7 on the road this season and 2-4 on the road in the Big Ten.
While the game was close to start, Rutgers began to fall behind as the first half progressed. After sophomore center Clifford Omoruyi tied the game up with 13:22 remaining in the half, the Wildcats (10-10, 3-8) outscored the Knights 31-18 to take a 43-25 lead into halftime.
Northwestern’s largest lead would be 52-28 with 17 minutes to go, and from that point forward, Rutgers slowly began to creep back into the game. With 10 minutes remaining, the Knights had a deficit of 14 points.
After spending nearly the entire second half chipping away at the Wildcats’ lead, Rutgers finally made it a one-possession game on a three-pointer from junior guard Paul Mulcahy with 2 minutes to play. The shot was one of many big plays Mulcahy made in the closing minutes and ensuing overtime.
Down 2 points after a defensive stop with 6 seconds left, Mulcahy took the inbounds pass and raced down the floor to find Omoruyi for a game-tying dunk. Thanks to 16 second-half points from Mulcahy, the Knights completed the comeback to take the game to overtime tied at 70.
While Rutgers held a brief lead to begin overtime, Northwestern was in control for the majority of the period, leading by as much as 5 points with approximately two minutes to go.
In the closing minute, the Knights would get the deficit down to 1 point on two separate occasions, but a turnover by senior guard Geo Baker and then a missed shot from senior guard Ron Harper Jr. on the team’s last possession was enough to seal Rutgers’ fate.
“You got to play 40 minutes. It’s a big boy league, and every team is really good especially when you go on the road,” said head coach Steve Pikiell after the game. “You can’t spot a team, you can’t play like that in the first half, we can’t turn the ball over for no reason 10 times.”
Despite the loss, Mulcahy had a career-best night. In 44 minutes, the Bayonne, New Jersey, native tallied a career-high 31 points, made 10 of 13 shots and hit 9 of 11 shots from the free-throw line. He also accumulated seven assists and rebounds to go along with four steals.
“Spectacular, really spectacular. I mean, he was great,” Pikiell said. “He kind of kept us in, he got to the free-throw line, he got downhill, he made shots. But I loved him directing the entire second half and the first half too.”
Omoruyi followed up Mulcahy with 22 points of his own and six rebounds. Harper also scored in double-figures with 16 points while grabbing a team-high seven rebounds. Baker, who is the Knights’ second leading scorer, failed to score for just the fourth time in his career.
As a team, the Knights shot 44.8 percent from the field and 23.5 percent from three-point range while turning on one of its best games from the free-throw line. In a season-high 27 attempts, Rutgers made 22 free throws, working out to 81.5 percent.
For the Wildcats, Boo Buie led four double-digit scorers with 18 points. Chase Audige led with seven rebounds while Julian Roper II compiled a team-high five assists. The win is Northwestern’s first home win in conference play and the first since Dec. 20.
The Knights will return home to take on No. 13 Michigan State on Saturday. The game will tip off at 4 p.m. and will be broadcasted on Fox Sports 1 and 88.7 WRSU-FM.
“(The Wildcats) were 1 point better. We played a great 25 minutes. Unfortunately, it’s a 40-minute league and (we) can’t get off to a start like that…” Pikiell said. “I will tell you our guys just kept fighting, I was proud of them for that and we’ll bounce back.”
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