Ndiaye Powers Rutgers to 66-52 Win Over Monmouth

Wednesday, December 9

Piscataway, N.J.

7:30 PM

Rutgers University

Monmouth

Ndiaye Powers Rutgers to 66-52 Win Over Monmouth

Dec 09 | Men's Basketball

PISCATAWAY, N.J. - Senior center Hamady Ndiaye (Dakar, Senegal) scored 22 points, grabbed 10 rebounds and issued a career-high tying eight blocks to help Rutgers (6-2) to a 66-52 win over Monmouth (2-7) Wednesday evening at the Louis Brown Athletic Center. Sophomore guard Mike Rosario (Jersey City, N.J.) added 23 points and seven rebounds for the Scarlet Knights, who captured their third straight victory.

Ndiaye, playing in his 100^th career game at Rutgers,  shot seven-of-11 from the field and made a career-best eight-of-10 free throws to register the second-highest scoring output of his career. He entered the game as the BIG EAST leader in blocks, while also ranking third nationally in both blocks and career clocks. Ndiaye did not disappoint in that category Wednesday evening. With the game winding down and with five blocks already tabulated on the stat sheet, he issued three rejections in eight seconds on one Monmouth offensive series to energize the appreciative crowd.

“He was terrific,” said Rutgers head coach Fred Hill. I don’t know what you can say about his performance when he didn’t practice the last two days. He has a bad ankle. He has only been getting about 15 or 16 (minutes a game). I really wasn’t sure of his stamina. There were times out there where I thought he was dying but he is a warrior and he kept coming back and coming back. He made all the plays. He knocked down his free throws tonight, which was huge.”

“He had a big impact on the game,” added Monmouth’s Travis Taylor. “He’s seven feet and knows how to move. Once he gets near the basket there is not much that you can do about it.”

The Rutgers defense once again rose to the occasion, limiting Monmouth to 36.5 percent shooting, while also forcing the Hawks into 22 turnovers. The Scarlet Knights out-rebounded their New Jersey foe by a 41-37 margin.

The first half was played at a sluggish tempo. The Scarlet Knights made just 25 percent of their shots in the opening 20 minutes, while Monmouth shot at a 50 percent clip. Rutgers entered the locker room at the midpoint trailing 33-31.

Trailing early in the second stanza, the Scarlet Knights made their move. A 17-1 run turned a three point deficit into a 51-38 lead with 11:06 remaining. Rutgers built its lead to 18 points (58-40), capped by an Ndiaye dunk, and maintained a double-digit advantage in the final stages to ensure the convincing win.

Rutgers returns to the hardwood on Tuesday (Dec. 15) to host Rider at the RAC in a 7:30 p.m. tip-off.

GAME NOTES

Tonight’s game marked the 100th career game at the helm for fourth-year Rutgers head coach Fred Hill. It also marked the 100th career game for senior center Hamady Ndiaye.
Ndiaye was two blocks shy of a triple-double with 22 points, 10 rebounds and eight blocks. It marked the second double-double of his career. His first double-double came against Cincinnati (14 points, 10 rebounds) on Feb. 9, 2008.
Ndiaye’s eight blocks tied a career high and marked the third time he has swatted that amount. The co-captain’s eight blocks moved him into fourth place on the school’s career list with 251. Ndiaye passed former Scarlet Knight Chick Weiler, who notched 246 career blocks from 1990-94. Ndiaye has issued three-plus blocks in 41 of his 100 career games and six or more deflections in 11 games.
Ndiaye’s 22 points is a season high and marks the second time in his career he has scored 20 or more points. The first time the seven-foot center notched 20-plus points was when he tallied 26 at Delaware on Nov. 16, 2008.
Ndiaye’s 10 rebounds is a season high and marks the sixth time in his career he has pulled down 10-plus boards.
Ndiaye’s eight free throws made and 10 free throws attempted signaled career-highs.
Mike Rosario’s 23 points marks the 34th time in his 40 career games that he has scored in double digits and 13th game he has scored 20-plus. Rosario’s 12 points at halftime is the 15th time he has scored 10-plus points by intermission, including five times this season.
Rosario’s seven rebounds tied a career high and is the third time he has pulled down that amount.
Jonathan Mitchell’s seven rebounds tied a career high and is the third time he has pulled down that amount.
Ndiaye’s technical foul was only the second of his career. His first technical came against Nebraska on Dec. 2, 2006.
Rutgers had a new a starting lineup for the second straight game with Rosario, Mike Coburn, Patrick Jackson, Mitchell and Ndiaye getting the nod. The start was the first for Ndiaye since March 10, 2009 against Notre Dame in the first round of the BIG EAST Championship.
Rutgers sophomore center Gregory Echenique had eye surgery today and did not play in the game. He will be out for approximately one month.

RUTGERS HEAD COACH FRED HILL

On Hamady Ndiaye’s performance:
“He was terrific. I don’t know what you can say about his performance when he didn’t practice the last two days. He has a bad ankle. He has only been getting about 15 or 16 (minutes a game). I really wasn’t sure of his stamina. There were times out there where I thought he was dying but he is a warrior and he kept coming back and coming back. He made all the plays. He knocked down his free throws tonight, which was huge. That is something that Gregory (Echenique) has been doing for us. To get ‘H’ to go in for eight-for-10 at the line and those blocks at the end that changed the course of the game. He was absolutely terrific. With those two guys we are getting great production from the center spot.”

MONMOUTH HEAD COACH DAVE CALLOWAY

Game thoughts:
“I thought we played well in the first half. We made shots and shot 50 percent from the floor. In the second half we didn’t shoot the ball as well and their defense had a lot to do with that. We turned the ball over way too much. Turnovers have been a problem for us all year, especially during our losing stretch. It’s hard to overcome when they score 18 points off of our turnovers. 
  
MONMOUTH’S TRAVIS TAYLOR (#25)

On the play of Hamady Ndiaye: 
“He had a big impact on the game.  He’s seven feet and knows how to move. Once he gets near the basket there is not much that you can do about it.”