Wednesday gave Rutgers hope for the future. Saturday was a reason to believe it’s not time to look to next year just yet.
Three days after the colossal commitment of five-star guard Dylan Harper, the Scarlet Knights enjoyed a strong night on the court, shaking off their early season woes for the time being.
Between the return of ace wing defender Mawot Mag and a lights-out night shooting the 3, Rutgers cruised past struggling rival Seton Hall, 70-63, in the annual Garden State Hardwood Classic in front of a sold-out crowd at the Prudential Center.
After getting outrebounded by a combined 40 in losses to Illinois and Wake Forest, the physical Mag helped Rutgers stay competitive on the glass and hold Seton Hall to 36.4 percent shooting.
The Scarlet Knights were on target from deep, making 12 of 24 from distance.
Coach Steve Pikiell’s lineup changes, moving Mag and JaMichael Davis into the starting lineup, worked.
A freshman, Davis had 11 points and six assists, and Mag contributed eight rebounds in 23 quality minutes in his first action since tearing his ACL last February.
Cliff Omoruyi, Rutgers’ star big man off to a slow start his senior year, was a force in the paint with 11 points, 13 rebounds and seven blocked shots.
Noah Fernandes added 19 points and three 3-pointers.
Kadary Richmond had 21 points and nine rebounds for Seton Hall (5-4), which fell to 0-4 on the season against teams ranked in the top 100 of KenPom.com.
The Pirates shot a dreadful 3-of-19 from 3-point range and were 16-of-27 at the line.
Rutgers (6-3) was in control mostly on the strength of its 3-point shooting over the first 20 minutes. It hit 7 of 14 in the opening half and led by eight at the break.
Seton Hall, meanwhile, had trouble getting much going.
It committed eight first-half turnovers and shot just 33.3 percent from the field while making just 5 of 12 free throws.
When Rutgers hit a pair of 3-pointers early in the second half, the lead was up to 14, forcing Holloway to use an early timeout, just 48 seconds into the stanza.
Seton Hall did respond, reeling off a 10-2 run in which all of its points came from Richmond and Davis.
A Pirates scoring drought, however, followed and Rutgers pushed the lead back to 15 with nine consecutive points. There was still 10:13 left on the clock, but the result was no longer in doubt.