Jacob Young and Paul Mulcahy combined for 34 points off the bench as Rutgers wrapped up nonconference play with an easy 94-49 home win over Division II Caldwell on Monday night at Piscataway, N.J.
The Scarlet Knights (10-3) won their fourth straight and improved to 10-0 at home thanks to the strength of their reserves, who contributed 54 points and outscored Caldwell's entire team by six in the first half en route to a 42-23 lead.
Young, a junior guard who sat out last season after transferring from Texas, scored 23 points (on 9-of-12 shooting) and contributed eight rebounds and six assists for his best output with the Scarlet Knights. Mulcahy, a freshman guard, had a career-high 14 on 6-of-7 shooting.
Mulcahy's previous best was 10 in Rutgers' 63-44 win over Lafayette on Dec. 22. In the past two games, he's made 11 of 13 shots.
Caldwell, which had no players taller than 6-foot-7, had almost zero presence on the boards early on. Rutgers had eight offensive rebounds in the first 4:12, and combined with three turnovers, the Cougars (6-6) didn't attempt their first shot until 2:40 into the game.
Rutgers missed 10 of its first 12 shots before getting hot, making five in a row and seven of eight on a 15-0 run to lead 24-8 with 11:32 left in the first half.
The strong bench play made up for an off night for most of Rutgers' starters. The Scarlet Knights' first five had just 13 points on 3-of-17 shooting in the first half, though senior forward Akwasi Yeboah (11 points overall), sophomore guard Montez Mathis (11) and sophomore guard Ron Harper Jr. (10) ended up in double figures.
Caldwell, which beat Division I Norfolk State in November, shot 29.1 percent overall and was 4 of 16 from 3-point range. The Cougars got 16 points from senior forward Ruud Lutterman and 10 from sophomore guard Anthony Cooper.
--Field Level Media
Caldwell | Rutgers | |
Ruud Lutterman 16 | Scoring | Jacob Young 23 |
Vaughn Covington 3 | Assists | Jacob Young 6 |
AJ Kittles 6 | Rebounds | Myles Johnson 10 |
Ruud Lutterman 4 | Free Throws Made | Ron Harper Jr. 4 |
Eric Johnson-Alford 2 | Steals | Geo Baker 3 |
Ruud Lutterman 1 | Blocks | Myles Johnson 2 |
Team | Points | FG% | 3PM-3PA | FTM-FTA | Assists | Rebounds | Blocks | Steals | Turnovers |
Caldwell | 49 | 29.1 | 4-16 | 13-21 | 11 | 29 | 1 | 6 | 16 |
Rutgers | 94 | 52.2 | 10-23 | 12-19 | 17 | 47 | 5 | 7 | 13 |