Rutgers opened up its season tonight with a home contest against Wagner inside Jersey Mike’s Arena and that amounted to a 75-52 win. Rutgers earned the victory without five-star freshman Ace Bailey who was injured in practice on Monday. Scarlet Nation has learned from a source that it is a minor hip injury that is not expected to keep him sidelined for long. Here is a look at how the rest of the Scarlet Knights fared throughout the season opener.
Starting Lineup
Rutgers rolled out the season with a starting lineup of Dylan Harper, Jordan Derkack, Emmanuel Ogbole, Zach Martini and Jeremiah Williams. Four of the five were first-time RU starters as Williams was the only one who previously took the floor for the opening tip as a Scarlet Knight.
Game Ball
Dylan Harper. It may not have been the fastest start for Harper but he showed multiple times what an elite offensive player he can be. Harper led all scorers and did not look anything like a first-time player making his freshman debut. He saw the floor well, found some open players and added a trio of steals on defense.
Stats
Dylan Harper 20 pts 3 rebs 4 assts 3 stls
Lathan Sommerville 11 pts 8 rebs 1 asst 1 blk
Jeremiah Williams 10 pts 2 rebs 1 asst 1 blk
Jordan Derkack 8 pts 5 rebs 1 asst 2 stls
PJ Hayes 12 pts 2 rebs
Tyson Acuff 3 pts 3 rebs 2 assts
Emmanuel Ogbole 0 pts 1 reb
Jamichael Davis 3 pts 3 rebs 5 assets 1 stl
Zach Martini 8 pts 4 rebs
Dylan Grant 1 reb
Did you notice…
—Rutgers struggled to find an offensive rhythm in the early going. The Scarlet Knights were just 2-of-8 through the first six minutes and suffered a 10-5 deficit. However, the response was emphatic as Rutgers reeled off 20 straight points to mount a 25-10 lead.
—Starting center Emmanuel Ogbole, who was expected to be a big part of this team played just four minutes in the first half as true freshman Lathan Sommerville came out and was the best RU offensive player for the first part of the first half. When Sommerville was on the bench, he spent time sitting next to assistant coach Jay Young as they communicated frequently.
—Tyson Acuff made his debut coming off a summer injury in which he broke a bone in his foot. He played minutes and scored three points on 1-of-5 shooting but should be more of a factor once he gets into the swing of things.
—Rutgers did a decent job defensively but Wagner did not help itself by missing its share of open looks. Ther5e was progress on the defensive end compared to the 891 points Rutgers surrendered in its exhibition contest against St. John’s. Wagner finished with 22 points in the paint and 12 offensive rebounds.
Next up
Rutgers will remain at home and continue with another out-of-conference game on Monday against St. Peter’s with a tip-off time of 7 p.m.
