The Rutgers men’s basketball team fell short 68-63 to Notre Dame in the second game of the Players Era Tournament. Despite a strong second half, the Scarlet Knights could not overcome a 19 point first half deficit to secure the win.
Rutgers’ defense would have some success early, holding Notre Dame scoreless for the first 4 and a half minutes of the game and allowing the Knights to take a 3-2 lead by the time the Irish got on the board. However, a few quick scores allowed Notre Dame to take a 9-6
lead with 15 minutes left in the first half. The Irish would keep building on their lead, forcing Pikiell to take a timeout with 8:44 left in the first half as they amassed an 11-point lead. Notre Dame would continue to run it up throughout the first half, heading into the locker room with a 36-24 lead. However, the Knights did have some momentum heading into the locker room, as they went on a 7-0 run to close out the half.
Rutgers would come out of the gate in the second half firing, cutting the Irish lead down to six. Notre Dame would respond with a run of their own, extending their lead to 13 before Pikiell called a timeout. Every time Rutgers would make shots to draw the game closer, the Irish would answer with a score of their own, keeping the lead around 13. The Knights would cut the lead to seven at the under 8 minute timeout, but could not capitalize as the Irish would hold on to win.
Despite the loss, several Rutgers players had breakout games. Jamichael Davis had 21 points on seven out of 12 shooting, hitting five three pointers in the process. The whole team shot well from three, hitting 41 percent of their shots from beyond the arc.
The major issue for the Knights in this game was that they only competed in one half. Surrendering a 19 point deficit at any point during a game makes it extremely difficult to come back and win. They have to find a way to compete for the entire game to give themselves their best chance to win.
Scarlet Knights Play of the Game
Up Next
Rutgers next matchup in the Players Era Tournament is yet to be determined, but will likely take place on either Thursday or Friday. Stay tuned to On The Banks to see who the Knights will be playing next!
