Terriers Fall at Rutgers, 69-45

Friday, November 10

Piscataway, NJ

7 PM

Boston University

0-2,0-0Patriot

Rutgers

1-1,0-0Big Ten

Boston U.

Rutgers

Photo by: Riley Lorenz

November 10, 2023 | Men's Basketball

Box Score Box Score Coach Jones Postgame

PISCATAWAY, N.J. – Opening the Scarlet Knight Classic, the Boston University men's basketball team fell at Rutgers, 69-45, on Friday night.

With their 10th straight win in the series following a 54-44 home victory five years prior, the Scarlet Knights improve to 1-1, while the Terriers drop to 0-2. BU forced 13 turnovers during the first half to enter the locker room down only eight (30-22), but Rutgers dominated in the paint with a 48-28 advantage in rebounds and 18-3 lead in second-chance points to pull away.

Freshman Matai Baptiste tallied a team-high eight points, and junior Ethan Okwuosa recorded seven points. Senior Miles Brewster hauled in five rebounds and earned a career-high five steals alongside Baptiste.

Two Scarlet Knights finished in double figures with Gavin Griffiths posting 25 points off the bench and Aundre Hyatt earning 17 points. A 6-foot-11 center, Naismith National Player of the Year Watch List member Clifford Omoruyi was held to just five points and five rebounds in 21 minutes of action.

HOW IT HAPPENED

After Rutgers opened with a layup, Brewster converted on his first steal with a free throw to spark a 7-1 spurt with 3-pointers from sophomore Nico Nobili and Okwuosa.
With 14:21 left in the half, sophomore Ben Roy drained a pull up jumper and watched Baptiste convert on a steal with a driving layup.
Sophomore Otto Landrum was a part of two deadlock breaking 3-pointers, first feeding Baptiste at 11:12 (16-13) and then hitting one of his own at 9:17 (19-16).
The teams went back and forth with Brewster scoring on a jumper at 3:53 to tie the game for the fourth and final time, 24-24.
Griffiths gave Rutgers the lead for good on the next possession with a hook shot and gave the Scarlet Knights two free throws at 1:00 to enter the locker room ahead, 30-22.
Hyatt helped Rutgers pull away to start the second half by scoring seven straight points, including a 3-pointer at 17:10 for the 37-22 advantage.
Nobili followed with a layup, but BU would never get any closer, as both Nobili and Landrum dealt with foul trouble.
After Roy hit two free throws at 13:55 to cut the deficit to 41-26, Griffiths scored from behind the arc to ignite a 11-2 run capped by Antonio Chol's trey at 10:25.
BU only netted one 3-pointer in the second half after hitting four in the first 20 minutes of action for the loss.

GAME NOTES

BU's 14 steals were the most since earning 18 against Hartford back on Nov. 17, 2002.
Freshman Spencer Joyner went a perfect 4-of-4 at the charity stripe to earn a season-high six points.
Okwuosa made his first start as a Terrier.
Both senior Evan Haber and junior Ryan Sutliff made their debuts with Sutliff scoring his first career bucket on a jumper.
Rutgers improved to 15-5 all-time in the series by shooting 44.2 FG% and holding the Terriers to 26.9 FG%.

UP NEXT

BU will next continue the Classic by visiting Howard on Tuesday (Nov. 14) at 7:30 p.m.
The Terriers are facing the Bison for the second time after winning the first matchup back in 2012 in Florida, 71-44.