Clifford Omoruyi had 20 points with 12 rebounds, Cam Spencer scored 19 and Rutgers used some strong defense to bounce back from its first loss with Tuesday night’s 76-46 victory over visiting Rider in Piscataway, N.J.
Omoruyi posted his third straight 20-point game, scoring 13 in the second half as Rutgers (4-1) rebounded from Friday’s six-point loss to Temple at the Legends Classic. Spencer, meanwhile, went 4 of 7 from 3-point range. Mawot Mag added nine points and eight boards.
The Scarlet Knights held Rider (1-4) to 25 percent shooting (2 of 19 from beyond the arc), blocked seven shots and turned 17 Broncs’ turnovers into 26 points.
Dwight Murray Jr. had 17 points for Rider, which averaged 76.3 points entering Tuesday but never found a rhythm. The Broncs succumbed to three 7-0 Rutgers runs in the first half and endured a second-half stretch where the Scarlet Knights scored 24 of 28 points.
Rider missed 10 of its first 13 shots and put the Scarlet Knights in the bonus by the 10:35 mark of the first half.
Spencer hit a pair of 3s during a 12-2 run that put Rutgers ahead 12-4. Four points from freshman Antwone Woolfolk (eight points, nine rebounds) highlighted a second 7-0 spurt from Rutgers.
Omoruyi’s dunk with 2:02 remaining in the first half gave Rutgers a 35-16 advantage. However, Rider scored the final seven points to cut its deficit to 12 at the half.
After the Broncs scored the first bucket of the second half, Omoruyi threw down another dunk and scored Rutgers’ first seven points out of the break. Fouls continued to plague Rider, as the Scarlet Knights, who went 19 of 32 from the free-throw line, were in the bonus before the 16-minute mark of the second.
Rutgers played a second straight game without injured starting guards Paul Mulcahy (shoulder) and reigning Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year Caleb McConnell (knee). The latter has yet to play this season.
–Field Level Media
