Revitalized Rutgers men's basketball defeats Seton Hall in Garden State Hardwood Classic
On Saturday night, the Rutgers men's basketball team defeated Seton Hall 70-63. It was the Scarlet Knights' (6-3, 0-1) first win against the Pirates (5-4, 0-0) at the Prudential Center in Newark since 2013.
Before the game, head coach Steve Pikiell made two changes to the starting lineup. It was announced on Friday that senior forward Mawot Mag would make his season debut after tearing his ACL on February 4. Freshman guard Jamichael Davis was also given the first start of his collegiate career.
"It was a long journey, a lot of ups and downs throughout the rehab process, but my teammates (and) coaches were there for me, so I really appreciate them," Mag said. "It was great to be out there, long time coming, long overdue, but it was great to go out there with my brothers and just be out there and just have fun and compete."
The game began slowly, with both teams taking time to settle into their respective offenses. Fifth-year guard Noah Fernandes got the scoring started by draining a three-point shot to give Rutgers a 3-0 lead approximately 2 minutes into the game.
Freshman guard Gavin Griffiths had a hot hand early on, making back-to-back three-pointers to give the Knights a 12-5 lead. Griffiths ended the first half with 9 points and shot 3-5 from beyond the arc.
Though Rutgers continued to hold its early lead throughout the half, Seton Hall was able to keep the game close thanks to the play of Kadary Richmond, who scored 9 points and grabbed five rebounds in the half.
With approximately 6 minutes remaining in the first half, and the Pirates trailing by 3 points, the Knights went on a 9-4 scoring run to close out the half and take a 33-25 lead. The run was started by Mag, who grabbed an offensive rebound and made a hook shot to get his first points since returning from injury.
Rutgers shot 50 percent from three-point range in the first half, whereas Seton Hall shot just 20 percent from three-point range. The Pirates also shot an abysmal 41.67 percent from the free-throw line.
The Knights opened up the second half by draining two three-pointers, the first one from senior forward Aundre Hyatt and the second one from Davis.
The contest would go back and forth from there, with Rutgers keeping Seton Hall at arm's length. The Pirates would attempt a late comeback, but Fernandes hit a step-back three with the shot clock expiring to give the Knights a 13-point lead with approximately 3 minutes remaining. Seton Hall continued to push the pace, but Rutgers would be able to see out a 7-point victory.
Senior center Clifford Omoruyi had a bounce-back game and was dominant inside. Omoruyi scored 11 points, grabbed 13 rebounds and had seven blocks on his way to winning the Joe Calabrese Game MVP award, given to the best player in the Garden State Hardwood Classic. Omoruyi also became the 46th player in program history to score 1000 points.
Davis rewarded Pikiell for the starting spot, as he played suffocating defense and energized the Knights on both ends of the floor. Davis ended with 11 points, six assists, one block and a steal.
"I'm a fan of his, I have been watching him on film," head coach Shaheen Holloway said about Davis. "I wasn’t shocked that he started tonight, just because he brings a lot of energy and on the defensive end, he does a good job."
Mag made an instant impact, grabbing eight rebounds and helping Rutgers only get three fewer rebounds than the Pirates.
Fernandes ended with a team-high 19 points and made multiple timely shots in the second half.
"He was fantastic, and he's become a good leader for us," Pikiell said about Fernandes' performance against Seton Hall.
Richmond starred for the Pirates, scoring 21 points, corralling nine rebounds and dishing out four assists.
Though the game was close throughout, the Knights never trailed Seton Hall, thanks in part to shooting 12-24 from three-point range. With the win, Rutgers will take home the Garden State Hardwood Classic Trophy for the first time since 2019.
The Knights will look to keep their momentum going against Long Island University on Saturday at Jersey Mike's Arena on Livingston campus. The game will tip off at 1 p.m. and be broadcast on Big Ten Plus and 88.7 WRSU-FM.
"We will continue to get better, we got good lift from all of our guys. I thought they had great focus," Pikiell said. "Another Seton Hall team that I have a ton of respect for. They are always tough to play here so big step for us right now. This group was really connected and I am proud of them."
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