Mawot Mag had 13 points to lead five players in double figures and help Rutgers top visiting Indiana 66-57 on Tuesday in Piscataway, N.J., for its first Big Ten victory of the season.
Aundre Hyatt scored 12 points for the Scarlet Knights while Jamichael Davis, Derek Simpson and Austin Williams chipped in 10 apiece.
Rutgers (9-6, 1-3 Big Ten) limited Indiana to 11-for-33 shooting after halftime. The Hoosiers (11-5, 3-2) went without a field goal for the first 4:05 of the second half. Xavier Johnson’s jumper snapped the skid and brought the Hoosiers to within 33-30, but Indiana struggled for consistency the rest of the way.
Kel’el Ware notched a double-double of 13 points and 17 rebounds for the Hoosiers. Mackenzie Mgbako and Malik Reneau both scored 13 points, with Reneau contributing seven assists and six rebounds.
Williams scored six points during a 12-0 second-half run that stretched the Scarlet Knights’ advantage to 13 points. Mag punctuated the surge with a one-handed transition dunk with 6:32 remaining.
Officials ejected Johnson — one of four Hoosiers averaging double figures in scoring — upon assessing him a flagrant-2 foul with 13:10 to go. Johnson appeared to hit Rutgers’ Antwone Woolfolk below the belt. Woolfolk first was whistled for shoving Johnson to the ground before a replay review confirmed Johnson initiated the incident.
Clifford Omoruyi grabbed 11 boards for Rutgers, which boasted a 51-40 advantage under the glass. Rutgers won despite shooting 32.3 percent as a team, compared to Indiana’s 39.7 percent.
The Hoosiers led by as many as seven points midway through the first half but trailed for the last 20 minutes of the game.
Letting fly from between the half-court line and 3-point arc, Simpson banked in a trey to beat the first-half buzzer and send the Scarlet Knights into the locker room with a 30-27 lead.
The Scarlet Knights shot 34.3 percent in the first 20 minutes compared to 48 percent for Indiana, which committed 11 turnovers. Sloppy ball control and shooting woes contributed to a 5:59 scoring drought for Indiana late in the first half. Trouble was, Rutgers misfired during the same stretch, only picking up six points on the Hoosiers.
Rutgers has won seven of the past eight meetings with Indiana.
–Field Level Media
