Rutgers beats No. 22 Seton Hall, Pirates star Powell injured
PISCATAWAY, N.J. (AP) — Seton Hall star Myles Powell sat out the second half with a head injury, and Rutgers’ Ron Harper Jr. had 18 points and six rebounds to help the Scarlet Knights beat the No. 22 Pirates 68-48 on Saturday in the Garden State Hardwood Classic.
Powell did not return to the Seton Hall bench in the second half. Sixth in the country at 22.9 points per game, Powell didn’t score his first points until nearly 10 minutes into the game after six misses and a couple missed free throws. He finished with six points on 3-of-9 shooting, missing four 3-pointers. The loss came on the heels of Sandro Mamukelashvili’s fractured wrist at Iowa State.
Harper won the Joe Calabrese Award — named in honor of the late journalist who covered the rivalry for 38 years — as the most valuable player. He had two early alley-oops dunks. Akwasi Yeboah added 14 points and seven rebounds for Rutgers (8-3).
Rutgers led 14-0 start before Seton Hall’s Anthony Nelson banked a 3-pointer. Rutgers pushed the advantage to 21 in the half and led 36-23 at the break. Rutgers led by 22 in the second half.
Quincy McKnight led Seton Hall (6-4) with 11 points. They have lost two in a row.
BIG PICTURE
Seton Hall: The Pirates struggled in their first full game without big-man Mamukelashvili and will likely fall out of the Top 25 after coming in the season ranked No. 12.
Rutgers: The Scarlet Knights finished a gauntlet four-game stretch 2-2. After coming into the season with the highest expectations in over a decade, they look like a team that can make the postseason for the first time since 2006, when they made the NIT. Rutgers holds the longest active streak for Power Five team not making the NCAA Tournament, with the last appearance in 1991.
SELL OUT
With the game selling out within hours of the tickets being released, the 8,329 packed inside the RAC made for the largest crowd at the Louis Brown Athletic Center since Feb. 23, 2002, when Rutgers beat Seton Hall 66-60.
UP NEXT
Seton Hall: Host No. 4 Maryland on Thursday.
Rutgers: Host Lafayette on Sunday.
