Rutgers University
Kansas State
Rutgers Drops Season Opener to Kansas State 55-41
Nov 15 | Men's Basketball
PISCATAWAY, N.J. -- The Rutgers men's basketball team (0-1) dropped its season opener to Kansas State (2-0), 55-41, Wednesday evening at the Louis Brown Athletic. Sophomore forward JR Inman (Pomona, N.Y.) began his season with a game-high 17 points for the Scarlet Knights and added three rebounds, two steals and a block.
|
JR Inman scored a game-high 17 points in the loss. Photo by Jim O'Connor/NJ Sport Pics |
Inman's 17-point outing marked the second-highest scoring total of his career and was also the 12th time he has reached double-digits as a Scarlet Knight.
Sophomore forward Jaron Griffin (Manchester, N.J.) led the Scarlet Knights with six rebounds, while senior captain Marquis Webb (Paterson, N.J.) was the team's second-highest scorer on the night with seven points.
Kansas State was led by junior forward David Hoskins, who scored 14 points to help lead his team to its second-consecutive win this season. Senior guard Lance Harris recorded a 'double-double' for the Wildcats, scoring 11 points and pulling down a game-high 13 rebounds.
The Wildcats began the game on a 5-0 run and never trailed in the game. Kansas State went into halftime with a 28-19 lead, due in large part to Hoskins' nine first half points. Inmanled the Scarlet Knights with eight points in the half.
Kansas State came out strong to start the second half, and after just over two minutes of play had built a double-digit lead. The Wildcats maintained their double-digit lead, as Hoskins chipped in five more points.
Rutgers turned in a fine defensive effort, holding Kansas State to 32.2% shooting from the field but the Scarlet Knights shot just 19.1% from the field on the offensive end.
"We defended extremely well but we never got into a rhythm. But that's going to come." said Rutgers first-year head coach Fred Hill. "We got good looks but we didn't make them. Against a good Big 12 team, you can't do that."
The Scarlet Knights are back in action on Sunday, Nov. 19, when they host St. Thomas Aquinas at 2:00 p.m. as part of the Chicago Challenge Invitational.
POSTGAME NOTES
SCARLET KNIGHT DEBUTS
The Wednesday night game against Kansas State marked the first career action as Scarlet Knights for freshman Hamady N'diaye (Dakar, Senegal) and sophomore transfer Courtney Nelson (Newark, N.J.). N'diaye logged 18 minutes in the game, while Nelson played 19 minutes.
PERFECT FROM THE LINE
Sophomore swingman Marquis Webb (Paterson, N.J.) went 4-for-4 from the line, while junior forward Ollie Bailey (Chicago, Ill.) also had a perfect 4-for-4 mark from the charity stripe.
AGAINST THE BIG 12
Despite the loss to Kansas State, Rutgers has a 5-3 record against Big 12 teams and a 1-1 record against the Wildcats.
BRIGHT SPOTS
Sophomore forward JR Inman (Pomona, N.Y.) recorded the 12th double-digit performance of his career with 17 points against Kansas State. It also marked the second-highest scoring night of his career, the first a 21-point performance against Delaware State on Nov. 22, 2005.
Sophomore swingman Jaron Griffin (Manchester, N.J.) pulled down six rebounds, the second-highest total of his career. He recorded his career-best, eight boards, came against Maine on Dec. 15, 2005. Griffin also had six rebounds at DePaul on Jan. 15, 2006.
