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.