Rutgers men's basketball survives Stonehill scare
The Rutgers men’s basketball team staved off Stonehill thanks to a late three-pointer by sophomore guard Derek Simpson to win 59-58 on Saturday. With the victory, the Scarlet Knights (8-4, 0-1) finished out-of-conference play with an 8-3 record.
Here are three takeaways from Rutgers' final game of 2023.
Derek Simpson and Clifford Omoruyi come up clutch
Simpson did not shoot the ball well against the Skyhawks (2-13, 0-0), as he shot 4-15 from the field, 1-4 from beyond the arc and a perfect 5-5 from the charity stripe. Yet, Simpson’s struggles were quickly forgotten when he received a pass from senior forward Mawot Mag and drained a three-pointer to give the Knights a 1-point lead with less than 13 seconds left in the game.
“Just shot it, man,” Simpson said about his game-winning shot. “You gotta have the confidence and appreciate Mawot (Mag) passing it back and just going up.”
It is not hyperbolic to say Simpon saved Rutgers’ season, as a loss to Stonehill would have sent the Knights tumbling down the rankings. It was not Simpson’s finest game, but when Rutgers needed him most, he delivered.
The Knights struggled against the Skyhawks’ three-two zone, but senior center Clifford Omoruyi was able to dominate inside. Omoruyi scored a team-high 17 points, along with three blocks and a career-high 17 rebounds.
Omoruyi only took six shots in the contest, but he also took 20 free throws. He shot 55 percent from the charity stripe but made several clutch free throws down the stretch. Omoruyi was Rutgers' only consistent performer throughout the game and his presence inside helped the Knights come from behind late.
“I loved it,” said head coach Steve Pikiell on Omoruyi’s performance. “I love the fact that he got 17, he just hung around there and he had some huge defensive stops for us too.”
Poor shooting performance
Do not let Omoruyi’s play and Simpson’s clutch shot distract from the fact that Rutgers put up an abysmal performance against Stonehill.
“I wanna make more free throws and that’s what we've kinda focused on,” Pikiell said.
It was not just free throws, though, as the Knights shot 25.8 percent from the field, 17.9 percent from three-point range and 62.9 percent from the free-throw line.
Rutgers looked disjointed on the offensive end and missed many open shots. From the 15:33 mark to the 13-second mark of the second half, only senior forward Aundre Hyatt made two field goals. The Knights made a total of five field goals, shooting 18.5 percent from the field in the second half, resulting in multiple groans from the crowd.
Rutgers will need to put its shooting woes quickly behind it when it begins Big Ten play in the new year.
Rebounding struggles persist
The Knights won the rebounding battle by two rebounds but that does not tell the whole story. The tallest player on the Skyhawks roster was six-foot-eight and because of that, Rutgers should have had a bigger advantage on the glass. The Knights even trailed Stonehill by one rebound at halftime thanks to a litany of miscommunications.
“We weren’t getting those long rebounds, we really weren't,” Pikiell said on the rebounding issues. “We talked a lot about it, we knew a lot about it on film. Second half we gave up four offensive rebounds so we did a much better job.”
Rutgers rebounded better in the second half thanks to Omoruyi, but the contest did little to dispel the idea that it fixed its rebounding issues before conference play.
The Knights will need to put this game and their performance in the rearview mirror quickly as they get back to Big Ten action, starting with Ohio State on Wednesday. The game will tip off at 7 p.m. and will be broadcast on the Big Ten Network and 88.7 WRSU-FM.
"It's amazing for me but as a group I think we can do a lot better to not be in that situation," Simpson said. "Obviously it's free-throws, making shots."
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