Sophomore center Myles Johnson collected a career-high 18 points and career-high tying 14 rebounds as Rutgers remained unbeaten at home by cruising to a 63-44 victory over Lafayette Sunday afternoon.
Rutgers (9-3) won its third straight game and improved to 9-0 at home by following up its impressive 68-48 win over then-No. 22 Seton Hall on Dec. 14 with another strong defensive showing
Johnson made 9 of 11 shots from the field, setting a career high for made field goals and matching a career high for attempts. He entered the game leading the Big Ten in shooting percentage (73.2).
Johnson posted his seventh career double-double and third this season while playing 24 minutes.
Geo Baker and Paul Mulcahy added 10 points apiece as Rutgers shot 47.6 percent and outscored Lafayette 46-18 in the paint while overcoming 18 turnovers and making just 1 of 9 attempts from 3-point range.
The Scarlet Knights also beat the Leopards for the sixth straight time and 11th time in the past 13 meetings dating to 1981.
Lafayette (7-3) saw a five-game winning streak end and was held under 60 points for the first time this season. The Leopards entered averaging 77.8 points per game.
Leading scorer Justin Jaworski was Lafayette's only double-figure scorer as he finished with 13 points on 5-of-13 shooting, but he also committed six of the Leopards' 21 turnovers. Tyrone Perry added eight points for the Leopards, who shot 31.5 percent.
Rutgers scored the game's first 17 points and held Lafayette scoreless until the 11:11 mark of the half. Lafayette missed its first 11 shots before Paul Cherry hit a layup. Rutgers held a 33-13 lead at halftime.
The Scarlet Knights opened a 47-19 lead on a jumper by Caleb McConnell with 12:45 remaining. Lafayette got the lead under 20 points when Perry hit a 3-pointer with 3:20 remaining that made it 59-41, but by then the outcome was decided.
--Field Level Media
Lafayette | Rutgers | |
Justin Jaworski 13 | Scoring | Myles Johnson 18 |
E.J. Stephens 4 | Assists | Paul Mulcahy 5 |
Lukas Jarrett 4 | Rebounds | Myles Johnson 14 |
Sean Good 1 | Free Throws Made | Shaq Carter 1 |
Tyrone Perry 3 | Steals | Paul Mulcahy 4 |
Myles Cherry 1 | Blocks | Myles Johnson 2 |