The Rutgers Scarlet Knights delivered a dominant performance on Monday night against the Columbia Lions in a non-conference showdown. The final score was 91-64 in favor of the Scarlet Knights which sees them improve up to 8-5 on their season record and a perfect 7-0 at home. On the other hand, Columbia now drops to 11-2 but maintains the number one spot in the Ivy League standings.
From the get-go, Rutgers came out with one goal and that was to bring home the win in Piscataway, and it was quickly noticed with their solid defense and lightning transitions mid game which saw Columbia struggle to keep up the same pace.
Ace Bailey led the Scarlet Knights in points on Monday night recording 24 points and helped contribute on defense with 8 rebounds, 2 blocks and 1 steal. Ace will be looking forward to breaking that 24-point season high in the rest of the upcoming games on the season.
Freshman sensation guard Dylan Harper, lit up Piscataway once again, this time recording Rutgers’ first triple-double in 42 years. The freshman’s outstanding night saw him record 16 points, 11 rebounds and 12 assists while also going 6-10 from the field and 4-7 from the three-point line. Harper averages 23.3 points per game which puts him in the top three for highest point percentage in this season and 52.1% from field goal.
Bailey, Harper and Jamicheal Davis all combined for a total of 51 points on the night. Lathan Sommerville came on into the game and helped contribute 11 points and five rebounds off the bench.
Columbia will look to regroup and bounce back despite the loss after their long break and not let this setback affect them as they will be back in action in two weeks hosting and facing off against Cornell who currently sits at 7-5 on their start to the season.
Rutgers will be traveling on the road to face off against Indiana on Thursday night. Indiana who currently holds a 10-3 season record and an even 1-1 conference record, will be looking forward for this game to secure their third win in a row at home with the support of their fans.
