National Basketball Association
Rutgers 79, Central Conn. St. 37
When: 7:00 PM ET, Tuesday, December 6, 2016
Where: Louis Brown Athletic Center, Piscataway, New Jersey
Officials:
# Donnie Eppley, # Lewis Garrison, # Rob Kueneman
Attendance:
3811
By The Sports Xchange
Reserve guard Nigel Johnson exemplified Rutgers' hot shooting performance in a 79-37 victory over visiting Central Connecticut on Tuesday in Piscataway, N.J., by making 6 of 9 field goal attempts for a game-high 16 points.
The Scarlet Knights (7-1) improved to 6-0 at home by shooting 64.8 percent from the field off a season-high 24 assists.
Central Connecticut (2-5) conversely made only 25 percent of its field goal attempts, including 3 for 17 from 3-point range. Blue Devils sophomore guard Austin Nehls scored a team-high nine points. Nobody else had more than six.
Rutgers took advantage of Central Connecticut's cold shooting and 22 turnovers to win comfortably.
Three Scarlet Knights' starters -- guard Corey Sanders, forward Deshawn Freeman and center C.J. Gettys -- almost outscored Central Connecticut's entire team. They combined for 36 points. Sanders had 14, Freeman 12 and Gettys 10, shooting a combined 17 of 22 from the field.
Rutgers led from when 16:21 remained in the first half. The Scarlet Knights went on a 19-4 run to build a 40-19 lead in the waning seconds before halftime.
Rutgers further pulled away, not allowing Central Connecticut to make a field goal in the second half until 16:15 remained. By that time, the Scarlet Knights were ahead 46-24 and the Blue Devils never drew closer.
Top Game Performances
Central Conn. St. |
|
Rutgers |
Austin Nehls 9 |
Scoring |
Nigel Johnson 16 |
Khalen Cumberlander 3 |
Assists |
Mike Williams 7 |
Tidell Pierre 7 |
Rebounds |
DeShawn Freeman 6 |
Khalen Cumberlander 3 |
Free Throws Made |
Nigel Johnson 2 |
Tyson Batiste 2 |
Steals |
Corey Sanders 5 |
Mustafa Jones 1 |
Blocks |
Shaquille Doorson 3 |
Team Stats Summary
Team |
Points |
FG% |
3PM-3PA |
FTM-FTA |
Assists |
Rebounds |
Blocks |
Steals |
Turnovers |
Central Conn. St.
|
37 |
25.0 |
3-17 |
6-9 |
8 |
30 |
2 |
5 |
22 |
Rutgers
|
79 |
64.8 |
4-10 |
5-13 |
24 |
35 |
8 |
14 |
16 |