PISCATAWAY, N.J. (December 14, 2008) ? Trailing by as many as 17 points late in the second half, DSU battled back to pull within to two points. However, out-scoring the Hornets 5-2 in the final 50 seconds, the Rutgers Scarlet Knights (7-3) held on for a 60- 55 win over Delaware State (2-12) on Sunday, Dec. 14 at the RAC in Piscataway, N.J.
A 23-6 run during the first 12 minutes of the second half coupled with a 28-of-35 performance for the free-throw line by Rutgers resulted in a five-point loss for Delaware State. Despite a 20-5 run to cut the Scarlet Knight lead to 55-53 with under a minute to play in the game, DSU could not pull out its first road victory of the season.
“I thought we played extremely well during the first 18 minutes of the ball game,” said Head Coach Greg Jackson. “We had a game play to take the ball inside and our players down low really took it to them (Rutgers). We came back out in the second half and got complaisant. We got away from our system and things that we worked on. That really cost us the ball game. In the first 12 minutes of the second half, we only scored six points. And then in the last eight minutes we starting running our system and got back into the ball game and had a chance to win”
The Hornets were led by Arturo Dubois who notched his third double-double of the year, scoring 15 points and grabbing 14 boards. Dubois registered double-digit scoring in his eighth-straight game, shooting 7-of-18 from the floor. Frisco Sandidge also scored in double figures, pouring in 11 points on 5-of-12 shooting. The Lynchburg, Va., native also grabbed seven rebounds versus the Scarlet Knights. In all, eight Hornets accounted for 55 points on 21-of-55 shooting (38.2 percent) from the field. Delaware State converted 10-of-17 from the charity stripe and was led by Trevor Welcher, who was 3-of-4 from the free-throw line.
Delaware State, which shot 43.5 percent (10-of-23) during the first half, forced 13 turnovers and out-rebounded Rutgers on the offensive glass, 12-8. The Hornets held the Scarlet Knights to 35.7 percent (15-of-42) shooting on the afternoon (2-11 from beyond the arc). However, 28 of Rutgers 60 total points were accounted for from the free-throw line.
The Scarlet Knights were led by three players who registered double-digits in the scoring column. Anthony Farmer led all players with 17 points, shooting 6-of-7 from the field and 4-of-5 from the free-throw line. Mike Rosario scored 15 points on 3-of-10 shooting from the floor and 9-of-10 from the free-throw lien. Scoring 12 points on 3-of-10 shooting, Corey Chandler converted 5-of-6 attempts from the free-throw line.
RU held a slight edge in rebounding, 35-34, and scored 14 points off of 13 Delaware State turnovers.
Delaware State jumped out to a 6-0 lead to start the game following a pair of layups by Dubois and a jumper by Welcher during the first three minutes of action. Rutgers battled back, tying the game at 8-all, following a layup by Farmer with 12:48 left in the first half. DSU went on an 11-2 run capped off by a Tramaine Johnson (6:40 mark) to give the Hornets their biggest lead of the game (21-10). Rutgers closed out the first half, out-scoring the DSU, 17-6, to tie the score 27-27. Delaware State held Rutgers to 7-of-20 shooting (35.0 percent) during the first 20 minutes and was led by Sandidge, who scored seven points and tallied five boards. Shooting 70.6 percent (12-of-17) from the free-throw line in the first half, Rutgers was led by Farmer’s eight points.
The Scarlet Knights jumped out to a 50-33 lead, holding the Hornets to just six points in the first 12 minutes of the second half. Down by 17, DSU chipped away at the Scarlet Knight lead out-scoring Rutgers 20-5 during a six-minute span. A pair of free throws by Welcher cut RU’s lead to 55-53 with 54 seconds left. However, a jumper by Farmer with 16 seconds left and a pair of free throws by Rosario with six seconds on the game clock sealed the victory for the Scarlet Knights and handed the Hornets their third-straight loss.
Delaware State will continue competition versus the BIG EAST Conference, heading to Notre Dame, Ind., to face the Notre Dame Fighting Irish on Saturday, Dec. 20. Game time is 7 p.m.