Rutgers Men’s Basketball Battles No. 2 Purdue, Falls 68-60

PISCATAWAY, N.J. – Rutgers men’s basketball fought back in the second half before falling to No. 2 Purdue on Sunday at Jersey Mike’s Arena.

Aundre Hyatt (15 points) and Cliff Omoruyi (13) led the scoring for RU, while Zach Edey had a game-high 26 points for the Boilermakers.

Purdue got out to a 21-7 lead after 10 minutes of action. The home team got the crowd back into it with a 9-0 run over a two-minute span, cutting the deficit to five. However, Purdue answered that with a 10-2 run of its own. Behind 50 percent shooting from the visitors in the opening half, the Boilermakers led, 33-20, at halftime.

Out of the break, Rutgers made three of its first five shots, including a triple from Hyatt, Rutgers’ first three-pointer of the game after shooting 0-of-8 from distance in the opening stanza. Purdue led as much as 43-29, but RU started off the second half 7-of-11 from the field, including a 7-0 run to force a Purdue timeout with the visitors leading 43-36. A Cliff Omoruyi dunk off an offensive rebound got RU within five at 45-40 heading into the under-12 media timeout.

Rutgers got it back to a two-point game at 50-48 Purdue off a three-pointer from Jaden Jones that electrified the crowd. After Purdue’s 43-29 lead, the Scarlet Knights would hold the visitors to just two made field goals in the next eight minutes, cutting the 14-point deficit to two.

Purdue added to their lead with a late 7-1 run before Jones hit a three-pointer to make it a six-point game with two minutes to play. Rutgers shot 50 percent in the second half (15-of-30), but it was not enough to overcome the Boilermakers, who led for 39 minutes in the game.

Postgame Quotes

Rutgers Head Coach Steve Pikiell

“Good to see everyone, it was such a great environment today. Purdue is a really good college basketball team that has been ranked all year and has the college basketball player of the year. First I want to thank Eddie Jordan, Mike Dabney, Hollis Copeland, and James Bailey for coming back. To see their numbers up in the rafters is really impressive and I’m really appreciative that we were able to honor them the right way. It was great to honor the football team for their Pinstripe Bowl win too. Our team, cheerleaders, and band were awesome and we played hard today. I thought we had our chances but that was a really tough team to prepare for. Not many teams have a 7’5 guy who catches everything and makes free throws. I was pleased with our effort and we just have to get better. We have had a tough stretch these first few games of the season and I hope to add a few more pieces to the team soon.”

Rutgers Guard Aundre Hyatt

“We had some careless turnovers in the first half which gave them easy points. I liked some of the good looks we got but limiting our turnovers made a huge difference. I felt like our first half mistakes were on us and we really needed to settle down.”

Rutgers Forward Cliff Omoruyi

“I thought we did get some good shots early but it’s hard when you’re going against an elite rim protector. You need to make your shots early on in a competitive game like this. We had more opportunities in the second half because we didn’t turn the ball over as much. We needed the offense to relax and let the plays come to us. Getting second opportunities and outrebounding really helped us out too.”

Purdue Head Coach Matt Painter

“We were right there. I did think we executed and got some good looks, we just couldn’t get over the hill. Then they came down the other end. Like I always say, there are two parts of it, we can stop them too, but they got timely baskets. Not only did we not finish the deal, we went back down their end and gave them more opportunities. That’s the best team in the conference, one of the best in the conference, so you have to play great for forty in that kind of game.”

Purdue Forward Zach Edey

“They’re both young and I am proud of Gavin. It hasn’t been easy but he had a great week of practice. He really focused and it showed today in the game. J-Mike is a great energy guy, he brings it everyday on both ends of the floor. Both of them are developing, but it’s hard. College basketball is hard and you have to go through obstacles.”

Purdue Guard Braden Smith

“He’s been very active in practice. He’s going through these stretches sometimes as a freshman and it’s not easy. Practices are long and hard, teams are scouting you, but he is doing more in practice which showed today.”

Team Notes

• Rutgers recognized its inaugural class of the “Knights of Honor”, with Eddie Jordan, Mike Dabney and Hollis Copeland honored in a pregame ceremony and with the additions of their jerseys to the rafters.
• Rutgers’ coaching staff wore suits and sneakers in honor of the annual “Suits and Sneakers” week initiative, raising money to battle cancer with the Coaches vs. Cancer platform.
• Rutgers’ held Purdue to 32 rebounds, tying their season low.
• Purdue entered the game with the number 7 scoring offense nationally at 85.8 points per game, and Rutgers’ held them to 68 points, just one point higher than their previous season-low output.
• Lance Jones entered averaging 12.5 points, second on Purdue, and RU held him to a season-low of four points.
• Gavin Griffiths (eight points) scored his most points since December 23 and tied for his largest output against a Big Ten team.
• Cliff Omoruyi (13 points) now has 1,126 points, passing Jim Valvano for 31st all-time at RU.
• Aundre Hyatt (15 points) had his team-leading 13th double-figure scoring game of the year.

Up Next

Rutgers returns to action at Jersey Mike’s Arena on Wednesday night, January 31, hosting Penn State. The game will be on Big Ten Network at 8:30 p.m.