Akwasi Yeboah scored 14 points, helping Rutgers remain perfect at home with a 59-50 win over Indiana in Piscataway, N.J., on Wednesday.
The Scarlet Knights (13-4, 4-2 Big Ten) improved to 12-0 at home season, which has included wins over Seton Hall, Wisconsin and Penn State. Caleb McConnell added 10 points for Rutgers, while Geo Baker -- in his first game back after missing three games with a broken left thumb -- had seven points, four rebounds, four assists and two steals.
Baker's thunderous dunk with 2:07 left put Rutgers up 53-41, thwarting any last chance of an Indiana comeback.
Justin Smith led Indiana (13-4, 3-3) with 15 points, while Joey Brunk tallied 10 points and 10 rebounds. Aljami Durham also had 10 points, but the Hoosiers were unable to overcome 16 turnovers and 2-of-19 shooting from 3-point range.
Rutgers scored 12 points off 10 Indiana turnovers in the first half to jump to a 31-24 halftime lead. The Scarlet Knights scored the game's first 12 points, with Yeboah scoring six of them on a 3-pointer and a 3-point play.
Indiana worked its way back, going up 22-21 on a Smith layup in transition with 6:52 left in the first half.
But the lead was short-lived. Rutgers answered with an 8-0 run that included 3-pointers from Ron Harper Jr. and Paul Mulcahy to go back up 29-22.
Rutgers finished the half with a breakaway dunk by McConnell off a Baker steal of Durham at midcourt. Indiana had five of its 10 turnovers in the final 6:52 of the half.
The Hoosiers shot just 37 percent from the field in the first half (10 of 27) and went 0 for 8 from 3-point range in the first 20 minutes. They slipped to 27.3 percent (9 of 33) from the field after intermission.
Rutgers stretched its lead to as many 17 points in the second half before holding off a late Indiana charge. The Hoosiers never got closer than seven points.
--Field Level Media
Indiana | Rutgers | |
Justin Smith 15 | Scoring | Akwasi Yeboah 14 |
Al Durham 2 | Assists | Geo Baker 4 |
Joey Brunk 10 | Rebounds | Akwasi Yeboah 7 |
Al Durham 5 | Free Throws Made | Geo Baker 3 |
Joey Brunk 1 | Steals | Geo Baker 2 |
Trayce Jackson-Davis 2 | Blocks | Shaq Carter 2 |