Box Score
PISCATAWAY, NJ—Star freshman guard Mike Rosario poured in 17 of his game-high 24 points in a span of less than five minutes late in the first half, blowing the game wide open and sending Rutgers on to a 78-52 men's basketball win over visiting NJIT Tuesday night in the RAC.
The Scarlet Knights, who are much improved over last season due in large part to an influx of talented newcomers led by Rosario, are off to a 9-3 start this year after winning just 11 games all last season.
Rosario finished with a game-high 24 points—21 in the first half and 17 scored between the eight-minute and 3:17 marks of the first half.
He was followed by classmate Gregory Echenique, who finished with 12 points and a team-leading seven rebounds. Senior Anthony Farmer came off the Rutgers bench for 11 points and a game-best five assists.
NJIT's scoring leader was freshman Isaiah Wilkerson, who netted 12 points in his second appearance for the Highlanders. Junior captain Gary Garris was the other double-figure scorer for NJIT, collecting 11 points. Garris also blocked two shots.
Wilkerson, who is newly-enrolled in NJIT and made his college debut on December 20 at Rider, showed a variety of moves against Rutgers and hit one of two three-point tries and all five free throws on the way to his 12 points. He played 27 minutes.
Junior center Dan Stonkus was the game-high rebounder, pulling down a personal season-high nine boards. His career rebounding high is 11, which he did twice in January 2007.
Stonkus also scored a personal season-best five points and blocked two shots, pushing his career total in that category to 101, which is the fourth-highest in school history.
Rosario, who played scholastically at famed St. Anthony High School in Jersey City, is the cornerstone of a Rutgers recruiting class that was ranked among the top 30 in the nation by three different independent recruiting services. He was New Jersey high school Player of the Year and a McDonald's all-America as a senior in 2007-08.
On Tuesday, NJIT got a glimpse of why Rosario is so highly-touted.
The Highlanders had scored the first five points of the game on a three-pointer by sophomore Justin Garris with 18:51 left and then a steal and breakaway dunk by Gary Garris on the next possession. But Rutgers came back and took the lead for good on a put-back layup by Echenique with 15:47 left in the first half.
Although it would trail the rest of the way, NJIT, which never stopped competing all night against the more talented Scarlet Knights, was hanging close and trailed just 21-15 after Stonkus scored on a layup with 8:16 left in the first half.
Then Rosario hit a three-pointer with eight minutes remaining in the half and the fuse was lit. Over the next 4:43, the freshman hit four more three-pointers and a layup to finish a spectacular play that began with a no-look lead pass from teammate Corey Chandler.
In all, Rutgers outscored NJIT, 23-8, over the last eight minutes, building a 44-23 halftime lead. Rosario, who was making shots from NBA three-point distance, had 21 points in 13 first-half minutes, while Gary Garris' six points led the Highlanders. Stonkus, Justin Garris and Wilkerson all followed with five points.
At halftime, NJIT coach Jim Engles challenged his team to run its offense more precisely and to do more to defend Rosario. The Highlanders delivered on both counts.
They took better care of the ball, committing six second-half turnovers compared to 10 in the first half and they worked for better shots, not settling for as many three-point tries as has been their custom in too many games.
Against Rutgers, they got the ball closer to the basket, attempting four three-pointers among their 26 total shots in the second half. They made 44 percent of their total second-half field goal attempts, which is well above their season team field goal percentage of 30 percent through the first 10 games.
On the defensive end, Rosario was limited to three second-half points, all at the foul line, with fewer open looks from three-point range. He did not attempt a shot from the field in 13 minutes after the break.
NJIT's Jheryl Wilson had a noteworthy hand in accepting both team goals for the second half. Limited to six minutes playing time in the first half, the sophomore played all 20 minutes in the second half. On offense, he took the ball to the basket, making three of five field goals and was fouled in the act of shooting twice, finishing with seven points. On defense, he joined his teammates to cut down Rosario's open looks.
Wilson's seven points were as many as anyone scored in the second half, as his teammate Wilkerson and Rutgers 6-foot-11 center Hamady Ndiaye also scored seven apiece.
Despite meeting their coach's two halftime challenges, the Highlanders never cut into the 21-point halftime deficit and were outscored in the second half, 34-29, for the final losing margin of 26 points.
Both teams are off until December 28. The Highlanders will host Wagner in a 2 pm game in the Estelle and Zoom Fleisher Athletic Center. Rutgers will visit top-ranked North Carolina later on the same day.
