Dylan Harper's triple-double leads Rutgers men's basketball in rout of Columbia
The Rutgers men’s basketball team defeated Columbia 91-64, spurred on by a historic performance by guard Dylan Harper. The freshman sensation recorded the first triple-double in program history since Roy Hinson in 1983. The Scarlet Knights (8-5, 1-1) bounced back well in their final non-conference game after a last-second loss to Princeton nine days ago.
For the Lions (11-2, 0-0), this marks just their second loss of the season after a dominant start to non-conference play. Columbia is well on pace to surpass its record from last season, which was less than favorable, winning just four conference games and 13 games overall.
The first half started the way most Rutgers games have this year, with points from the duo of Harper and freshman forward Ace Bailey. On 3 of the first 5 possessions for the Knights, either Harper or Bailey scored, opening up a 12-4 lead early.
Throughout the first half, Rutgers seemed to have steady control of the game in every aspect, outscoring Columbia, out-rebounding them and overall outplaying them. Despite this, the scoreboard told a different story, with the Lions keeping their deficit within reach on the back of Geronimo Rubio De La Rosa’s 11 points.
The Knights saw production for multiple players, with Bailey leading the half with 17 points, followed by sophomore guard Jamichael Davis with 9 points. Harper was quiet in the first half with just 3 points but filled up the stat sheet with seven rebounds and six assists. Rutgers would enter the break up 44-35, with Columbia just one run away from closing the gap.
To the Lions’ credit, they came into the second half with the same fire as the first and kept the game tight, closing the Knight’s lead to just 8 points with approximately 15 minutes left. From that point, it was all Rutgers, outscoring Columbia 40 to 21 in the remaining 15 minutes of the game.
Bailey added another 7 points to his total in the half, ending with 24 points on 11-for-18 shooting from the field and collecting eight boards. Harper dazzled in the final frame with 13 points on 5-for-6 shooting, to go along with four rebounds and six assists. More impressively, Harper did something that has not been done in more than 40 years on the Banks, collecting his first career triple-double.
“Obviously, It is a great accomplishment," Harper said. "But, I could not do it without my teammates. Guys like Jamichael Davis, Ace Bailey, really put me in great positions. They were open for me to find them. The most important thing is that we won today, that is what we wanted to do. We prepared great, and did all the right things.”
Harper was important on all ends of the floor, bringing down rebounds, dishing out assists and sinking clutch three-pointers to help pull away from the Lions in the second half.
“I love the fact that (Harper) had seven rebounds in the first half — we need him to do those things,” said head coach Steve Pikiell. “He passed the heck out of the ball, he scored. I always say this about these guys, there are better days ahead of them too so that’s the exciting part but, yeah heck of an accomplishment.”
As Big Ten play awaits, the Knights have cleaned up many things that have plagued them in the past few games. Rutgers left far fewer points at the line, shooting 8-for-12 from the charity stripe and dominated the glass, allowing the Lions to collect just three offensive rebounds.
Overall, it was a strong team effort for the Knights, with four players tallying double figures, three of which were freshmen, in Harper, Bailey and freshman center Lathan Sommerville. As a team, Rutgers shot approximately 47 percent from the field and recorded 45 total rebounds, tied for the second most in a game this season.
The Knights have a few days off before they start the new year on the road against Indiana for the start of a tough conference schedule. Thursday’s tip is scheduled for 8:30 p.m. and will be broadcast on Peacock as well as 88.7 WRSU-FM.
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