Rutgers survived an early three-point barrage by American University to take control of the game in the second half and improve to 4-0 on the season for the first time since the 2020-21 season. The Scarlet
Knights have won 20 straight home games against nonconference opponents, which is the second-longest streak in the Big Ten.
American got off to a 5-0 lead and made nine three-pointers in the first half, which included a 12-0 run that put the Eagles ahead of the Knights 22-11 after just eight minutes of play. But American went cold the rest of the half, scoring on just four of their 21 field goal attempts heading into the break. Rutgers capitalized by going on several scoring runs to tie the game at halftime.
Coming out of the locker room, Rutgers went on a 7-0 run and extended it to 48-37 within the first seven minutes of the second half. The Eagles hung around and closed the game back to three points, but Rutgers was able to hold serve and eventually push the lead back to double digits.
American made one final push, cutting the lead to five points multiple times in the final minute, but Rutgers iced the game with free throws and a dunk by Dylan Grant for the nine-point victory. The Scarlet Knights went 47% from the floor and 40% from beyond the arc while outrebounding American 42-32. After struggling at the free throw line through their first three games, Rutgers went 24-30 from the charity stripe, a resounding 80%.
Dylan Grant followed up his career-best 28-point game against Lehigh with a double-double, recording 22 points and 11 rebounds to lead the Knights in those categories. Tariq Francis had 19 points, five rebounds, and four assists, going 6-13 from the floor and connecting on two three-pointers. Denis Badalau and Darren Buchanan Jr. were the only other Scarlet Knights in double figures, with both forwards scoring 10 points.
For the Eagles, Madden Collins led the team despite coming off the bench, scoring 16 points on 5-9 shooting and making three of his five attempts from deep. Greg Jones and Wyatt Nausadis had eleven points each, while Geoff Sprouse and Kade Sebastian both had eight for American. After a sizzling start, the visitors cooled off to a respectable 35% from the field and 38% from downtown, but were unable to close the gap on the Scarlet Knights.
In what is becoming a concerning trend, Rutgers is struggling to put away low and mid-majors, with the only convincing win being the opener over Rider. Maine cut their final deficit to 12 points after a resillient end to the first half and Lehigh hung around even longer than that before the Scarlet Knights put the Mountain Hawks away. Against American, Rutgers fell behind signifcantly, but even when they established a second-half lead, the Eagles made the game close in the final minutes.
The Knights have one final tune-up against Central Connecticut State on Friday, which will tip off at 6:30 PM at Jersey Mike’s Arena on Big Ten Plus. After that, its off to Las Vegas, where Rutgers will face off against #20 Tennessee and Notre Dame in the second edition of the Players Era Festival.
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