PISCATAWAY, NJ - The Scarlet Knights used a 16-2 run in the middle of the second half and clutch defensive stops late in the game en route to a 63-61 season-opening win over Marist Friday evening at the RAC in the first game of the Garden State Challenge. Rutgers tied the school record with 16 blocks, eight courtesy of Hamady Ndiaye (Dakar Senegal), who set a new career-high for rejections.
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Hamady Ndiaye finished with a career-high eight blocked shots. (Jim O'Connor/NJ Sport Pics)
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The Scarlet Knights were led by the stellar play of freshman Mike Rosario (Jersey City, N.J.), who scored 17 points, the most by an RU rookie in a career opener since Charles Jones scored 19 against Manhattan in 1993. While Rosario was driving and draining shots from the outside, fellow freshman Gregory Echenique (Guatire, Venezuela) was a forced to be reckoned with in the post, lighting up the stat sheet with 11 points, 15 rebounds and six blocked shots.
“I do like right out of the gate that we executed and did the things we needed to do to win a tight ball game,” Hill said. “It was a heck of hard fought game and I am really proud of our guys, especially the young guys on the floor that made plays down the stretch”
One of those plays came late in the second half courtesy of sophomore Mike Coburn (Mt. Vernon, N.Y.). With the Scarlet Knights clinging to a two-point lead with 1:22 to go, Coburn drove the lane and scored in traffic to put Rutgers ahead by four and for good.
Sophomore Corey Chandler (Newark, N.J.) was also an integral part, coming off the bench to score seven points, six of which came during the Scarlet Knight’s crucial second-half run in which they went up as many as 10 with 11:27 to go.
“He [Chandler] certainly gave us a spark off the bench in the second half,” Hill said. “He is explosive and helps us on defense and gets to the rim and he put pressure on Marist’s defense.”
Lawrence Williams scored 14 points to pace the visitors and was one of three Marist players to finish in double digits.
For their next game in the Garden State Challenge, the Scarlet Knights hit the road for the only time this month, when they head south to face Delaware this Sunday. Tip-off is slated for 4:00 p.m.
POSTGAME NOTES
Rutgers’ 16 blocks tied the school record. The Scarlet Knights also had 16 blocks in an 85-51 win over St. Bonaventure on January 16, 1992.
Mike Rosario’s 17 points marked the most for an RU freshman in his first collegiate game since Charles Jones scored 19 points in a 70-64 win over Manhattan on November 27, 1993.
Gregory Echenique’s 15 rebounds marked the most for a RU player in a season opener since then junior Rashod Kent had 18 rebounds in a 64-61 win over FDU on November 19, 2000.
Hamady Ndiaye’s eight blocks marked a new career high His eight rejections are tied for the eighth-most in a game in RU history. Ndiaye’s previous career-high was seven, achieved twice.
A pair of freshmen led the Scarlet Knights in minutes played, with Gregory Echenique logging 36 minutes and Mike Rosario playing 33. Both were in the starting lineup. The last time a pair of freshmen were in the starting lineup in a season opener was in 2005-06, when current seniors Anthony Farmer and JR Inman started in a 66-46 win over Austin Peay.
POSTGAME QUOTES
Rutgers Head Coach Fred Hill
On Marist…
“They really played very, very well and they play a unique style that really forces you to defend on the ball and they really stretch you. They are very good at what they do and they played extremely hard.”
On late game execution…
“Everybody did a great job coming down the stretch. Everybody executed and did a great job in last five to six minutes of the game. We were up 10 with a chance to put it away. They cut it to one and from that point on, we did a phenomenal job of responding and closing out the game the way you are supposed to.”
On players cramping…
“Everybody’s cramped. Everybody’s a little tired and I wish I didn’t have to play guys that many minutes but that’s where we are right now. We had a fight through it and we overcame it and that’s what I am really proud of. It was hot in the gym and they played long minutes and they cramped up and got a little tired.”
On the first half…
“We held them to 25 percent shooting. That’s a great number. We only held them to 26 points, we should have been up 10 or 12, but we didn’t score. We took some quick shots and there was a lot of nervous energy. We weren’t quite in sync and in flow and Marist makes you play that way.”
On Corey Chandler…
“Corey is working his way back in. He certainly gave us a spark off the bench in the second half. He is explosive and helps us on defense and gets to the rim and he put pressure on Marist’s defense.”
Hamady Ndiaye
On helping set the blocks record …
“We just played hard. Me and Greg [Echenique] have the same mentality. He reminds me a whole lot of me when I was a freshman. We decided we weren’t going to let anybody score.”
On blocking shots….
“I don’t find anything better.”
Mike Rosario
On debut…
“I felt great. I want to thank all of the fans tonight because that is what really got us going. We were picking each other up as a team and we put trust into our teammates and coaching staff.”
MARIST HEAD COACH CHUCK MARTIN
On his team’s performance tonight:
“They showed a lot of character. The kids came out here and played hard on the road against a BIG EAST team. We have nine scholarship guys. We’re depleted a little bit. Not only did they play hard, but they executed our game plan. We had a game plan coming into the Rutgers game and we have an enormous amount of respect for Coach Hill and his staff and I just think our kids played really well and played hard.”
On Rutgers having a size advantage down in the paint:
“We prepared for that. Anytime they got the ball inside we doubled big-big. We turned them over three times in the first half early. Our kids executed our game plan. We knew they were going to be bigger and stronger and they should, they’re in the BIG EAST. We had some open looks and we didn’t knock them down.”
On being able to keep the game close and never letting Rutgers pull away:
“If you can get people to believe, you can get them to do anything. If you get 10 guys on a team or 10 guys down at Wall Street to believe towards one common goal, you can do anything. Talent doesn’t matter.”
On what his team takes away from this close loss:
“The first thing is we had a chance to win the game. There are no moral victories. Obviously we are excited about how we played and performed. I think we represented the MAAC really well. We represented our school really well, but they have to walk away thinking they had a chance beating a BIG EAST team. We had a chance to do it. Hopefully we’ll grow and get better.”
