Rutgers University
Saint Thomas Aquinas
Rutgers Rolls Past St. Thomas Aquinas, 82-41
Nov 19 | Men's Basketball
PISCATAWAY, N.J - Sophomore forward JR Inman (Pomona, N.Y.) scored a game-high 15 points and grabbed six rebounds to lead Rutgers to an 82-41 victory over St. Thomas Aquinas (NY) on Sunday afternoon at the Louis Brown Athletic Center (RAC).
The victory marked the first under Rutgers first-year head coach Fred Hill. Sophomore forward Jaron Griffin (Manchester, N.J.) matched his career-high with 13 points on 5-of-7 shooting from the field. Senior forward Adrian Hill (Canton, Ohio) and junior forward Ollie Bailey (Chicago, Ill.) each contributed 10 points as the Scarlet Knights rebounded from a season-opening loss to Kansas State on Wednesday.
"Any time you get a win, it's great to have. It's not easy to come out against teams that don't have a so called name. What we wanted was to come out and do what we do, and that's to defend, and rebound, and run, and play for a full forty minutes. And I thought that we did that very well against Kansas State and certainly I thought we did that today," said Hll. "And when you look at the shooting percentages that we held them to and the point total we held them to, and we did it for the entire game with subs. I'm very very pleased with that aspect of what were doing. Obviously we have more talent, so you're supposed to win the game. But I was very pleased with the way we approached it and how we went about getting a good 'W' today."
Willis Ketrell led St. Thomas Aquinas (0-2) with 14 points.
The Scarlet Knights, who never trailed, broke open an 8-8 tie early in the first half with a 21-6 spurt, capped by a pair of free throws by freshman center Hamady N'Diaye (Dakar, Senegal), which gave Rutgers a commanding 29-14 advantage with 6:50 left in the opening stanza. Inman scored seven points in that stretch on a three-point jumper and a pair of emphatic dunks. N'Diaye offered a glimpse of his vast potential with nine points, six rebounds and four blocked shots in a 15-minute stint.
Rutgers put the game away with a 17-2 run to open the second half, highlighted by an Inman three-point jumper that increased the Scarlet Knight lead to 55-25 with 14:09 left to play.
"I was very impressed with the way that we started the second half. I think we held them scoreless for the first four or five minutes of the second half," said Hill.
Rutgers shot 51.7 percent from the field while the Scarlet Knights' multiple defensive looks limited the Spartans to 27.5 percent shooting for the game. RU also held a 43-27 edge in the rebounding department.
Rutgers will be back in action on Tuesday, hosting Jackson State in the second round of the Chicago Challenge Invitational at the Louis Brown Athletic Center. Tip-off is set for 7:00 p.m.
POSTGAME NOTES
WITH THE WIN'?Rutgers defeated St. Thomas Aquinas 82-41 on Sunday afternoon at the RAC. It marked the first victory for head coach Fred Hill as the Scarlet Knights evened their record at 1-1.
FOUR SCARLET KNIGHTS IN DOUBLE FIGURES
In the 82-41 win against St. Thomas Aquinas Sunday afternoon, four Scarlet Knights scored in double figures. Sophomore JR Inman led all scorers with 15 points, followed by sophomore forward Jaron Griffin's 13 points and 10 points apiece from senior forward Adrian Hill and junior forward Ollie Baliey.
Name FG-FGA 3FG-3FGA FT-FTA TPJR Inman 6-9 2-3 1-1 15
Jaron Griffin 5-7 2-3 1-2 13
Adrian Hill 3-4 0-0 4-4 10
Ollie Bailey 3-7 0-0 4-7 10
GRIFFIN TIES CAREER HIGHS
Sophomore forward Jaron Griffin tied his career high with 13 points against St. Thomas Aquinas on Sunday. He shot 5-of-7 from the floor, including connecting on 2-of-3 three pointers. Griffin previously set the mark last season against the Spartans on Dec. 12, 2005.
FIRST COLLEGIATE ACTION
Freshman walk-on Jamar Colon saw his first career action Sunday against St. Thomas Aquinas. Colon logged three minutes and attempted one field goal in the contest.
