Rutgers received 25 points from freshman guard Gavin Griffiths and picked up its first victory of the season by beating visiting Boston University 69-45 on Friday night in Piscataway, N.J.
Griffiths was 9 of 15 from the field, including 3 of 7 from 3-point range, and played a team-high 27 minutes. Aundre Hyatt scored 17 points for the Scarlet Knights (1-1), while Antwone Woolfolk had a game-high eight rebounds.
BU (0-2) received eight points from Matai Baptiste and seven from Ethan Okwuosa. The Terriers, who opened the season with a 67-58 loss to Northeastern, had 14 steals in the loss and forced 17 Scarlet Knights turnovers.
BU shot 26.9 percent from the field (14 of 52) and was 5 of 25 (20 percent) from 3-point range. Rutgers had a 48-28 edge in rebounding, and a 28-10 advantage on points in the paint.
Rutgers forward Mawot Mag, who is recovering from a torn ACL, did not play after he was listed as questionable. Mag, one of the team’s top defensive players, also sat out Rutgers’ loss to Princeton.
The game was tied, 22-22, but Rutgers scored the final eight points of the first half and led 30-22 at halftime. The Scarlet Knights took complete control by going on a 32-10 run to open the second half and outscored the Terriers 39-23 after the break.
Rutgers, which was coming off a 68-61 loss to Princeton on Monday, led by as many as 30 points in the second half. The Scarlet Knights shot 44.2 percent from the floor and struggled at the free-throw line (16 of 30).
BU was seeking its first victory over a Power 5 victory since posting a 78-70 win at South Carolina in 2019. The Terriers haven’t defeated a Big Ten team since a 71-67 victory over Indiana in the 2009 Puerto Rico Tip-Off.
Ten Rutgers players played at least 13 minutes in the victory. Nine of those players entered the scoring column.
–Field Level Media