Rutgers men’s basketball returned to action on Tuesday evening at Jersey Mike’s Arena to battle an in-state foe in NJIT. After the women’s team eclipsed triple digits behind a 33-point outing for Mia Pauldo, the men’s team lit up the scoreboard in a 37-point drubbing over the Highlanders to improve to 2-0 on the young season.
NJIT got off to a hot start from the outside with early threes from Brandon Stores Jr. and David Bolden, taking a 6-2 lead. However, Lino Mark got it going early, with three straight
layups as he beat the Highlander defense to the cup, including a skilled reverse-hand finish.
It was a layup-fest early inside the trapezoid, as Bolden and Matheo Colfi made layups, while Colfi converted on an and-one opportunity to take a 13-8 lead before Darren Buchanan Jr. and Jamichael Davis trimmed the lead to one. Bolden quickly answered with another crafty layup as the Highlanders pushed their lead back to three. With Buchanan Jr. getting fouled in the lane, he split a pair to cut the lead back to two.
After the Scarlet Knights’ defense forced a difficult heave from Stores, Francis got free on a breakaway for a layup before the Italian freshman Diego Garavaglia checked in the game and knocked down an open three-pointer from the left wing as Rutgers took its first lead of the evening. An open Francis hit a sidestep and a triple as the Knights went up 21-15 on a 9-0 scoring run.
Bolden answered for NJIT with a teardrop floater, but Rasheed Jones hit a difficult three from the left corner, keeping the ball in bounds and stepping into his shot. The Highlanders couldn’t answer, and Davis knocked down one of two from the line, but NJIT answered back with a layup from Victor Vanderstraten to cut the lead back to 25-19.
With the Highlanders going for an alley-oop, Davis intercepted the basketball, and John Kelly came up with a vicious block on Christian Gurdak to deny him a dunk. The free-throw woes continued as Gurdak split a pair, but Vanderstraten answered with one of two free throws after he got fouled underneath the rim to keep the Rutgers lead at six points.
Rutgers gained separation when Francis found Gurdak for an easy bucket, then Mark drove past the Highlanders’ defense for another layup. With solid team defense forcing a turnover, Davis scored a floater that may have been intended to set up an alley-oop, and Bolden finally answered to cut the NJIT lead to 32-22.
With Mark making two free throws, the Knights took a comfortable 12-point lead into the final TV timeout of the first half, and the Knights added to it with their size at the rim, including a layup from the 6’ 10” freshman Mervedi Miteo. Francis found a flying Darin Smith Jr. to push the Rutgers lead up to 17 before Buchanan and Davis helped the Knights go into the locker room up 46-26.
The second half offered more of the same, as Rutgers continued to take advantage of its size inside. Gurdak added two early baskets, while Francis knocked down a pair of three-pointers as the Scarlet Knights extended their lead to 30. Jones also continued his strong shooting performance from beyond the arc, giving Rutgers another perimeter threat.
With a comfortable advantage, Rutgers never allowed NJIT to seriously threaten its lead. The Scarlet Knights used their size and depth to maintain control throughout the second half, turning what was initially a competitive in-state matchup into a convincing performance.
Instead of the Highlanders closing the gap in garbage time, Rutgers continued to expand its lead, crossing triple-digits for the first time since their 110-101 (3OT) loss to Illinois in 2016, this time doing it in regulation. Kaden Powers checked in after the sixteen-minute mark to make his season debut, while Max Fradkin checked in with roughly three minutes to play, and he gave the Knights their final two points to give them 101 on the day.
Rutgers had four of its five starters in double figures, with Lino Mark and Tariq Francis leading the Knights with 17 points each. Francis made three of four from deep against his former team, while Mark impressed with his quickness and finishing at the rim, also leading the team with eight rebounds.
Christian Gurdak was too much for NJIT at the rim with 12 points and four boards, while Darren Buchanan Jr. had 10 points, pitching in five rebounds, three assists, and a steal in an all-around effort. Darin Smith Jr. rounded out the starters with nine, while Will Sydnor had 10 points in just seven minutes off the bench.
Jamichael Davis continued his strong start to the year with eight points and three steals, creating points for Rutgers through strong defensive play, while Mervedi Miteo pitched in five rebounds and two blocks as he continues to grow into college basketball. Rasheed Jones knocked down both of his three-pointers as the Knights seem to have a sharpshooter that they have not had since Cam Spencer.
Rutgers held NJIT to just 32% shooting from the floor and 4-26 (15%) from beyond the arc after the Highlanders got out to an early lead. The Scarlet Knights forced 12 turnovers, while also forcing a lot of difficult shots and bothered the Highlanders with their size. David Bolden was able to lead all scorers with 18, but he was the only NJIT player in double figures.
On the offensive end, Rutgers shot 52% from the field (31-60), while making eight of 21 from deep for a 38% clip from three-point range. The free throw woes were not completely solved, although the Scarlet Knights did convert 31 of 41 for a respectable 76% from the charity stripe.
It was about as dominant of a performance as you could expect, even against a lower mid-major opponent. Rutgers will get one final pre-Las Vegas tune-up game when Bryant visits Jersey Mike’s Arena on Friday, November 13th. Tip-off is scheduled for 6 PM, with the game being available for streaming on Big Ten Plus.
To support me and my work, please follow @arnavsarkar1000 on X!
