Ron Harper Jr. scored 13 points as Rutgers survived an upset bid from visiting Merrimack and pulled away for a 48-35 victory Saturday afternoon in Piscataway, N.J.
The Scarlet Knights (2-0) struggled again against a lower-level team after needing overtime to beat Lehigh on Tuesday in their season opener. This time they overcame a nine-point deficit and did not get the lead for good until about 8 1/2 minutes left.
Harper was 5 of 12 from the field and grabbed 11 rebounds on a day when Rutgers shot 43.5 percent in the second half but a dreadful 31.3 percent overall.
Clifford Omoruyi posted a double-double with 11 points and 13 rebounds to help Rutgers to a 49-34 edge on the glass. Aundre Hyatt added eight points as Geo Baker was held to seven points while contributing six assists.
Mikey Watkins scored 12 points for Merrimack (2-1), which was seeking its second win over a Big Ten school in three years as a Division I team. The Warriors beat Northwestern by 10 points in their second game as a Division I team in Nov. 2019.
The Warriors shot 23.3 percent from the field and missed 24 of 29 shots in the second half, including 15 of their final 17.
Rutgers took its first lead midway through the first half when Harper converted a putback layup of his own miss to snap a 29-29 tie with 8:27 remaining. Harper’s putback was part of a game-ending 19-6 run for the Scarlet Knights, who hit five layups and dunks during the final 8:27.
Despite shooting 29 percent (9-of-31) in the first half, Merrimack held a 23-16 lead at halftime as Rutgers missed 20 of 25 shots and committed 10 turnovers. Harper was 3 of 5 at halftime but the rest of the team shot 2 of 20.
–Field Level Media
