PISCATAWAY, N.J. (AP) — Clifford Omoruyi had 17 points, 14 rebounds and six blocks, Caleb McConnell added 14 points and seven assists and Rutgers beat Bucknell 85-50 on Friday night.
The Rutgers defense dominated again. The Scarlet Knights entered with the fifth best scoring defense in the country, holding opponents to 54.7 points per game, and Bucknell didn’t reach 50 points until Noah Williamson’s hook shot in the lane with 24 seconds left. The Bison shot just 31% and turned it over 15 times.
Aundre Hyatt added 11 points and freshman Derek Simpson scored 10 for Rutgers (8-4). McConnell and Omoruyi combined to make 14 of 21 shots while Bucknell finished 18 of 58 from the field.
Omoruyi had six dunks in the first half and his 17 points helped Rutgers to a 44-26 lead at the break. Omoruyi opened and closed the first-half scoring for Rutgers with alley-oop dunks. The Scarlet Knights had 10 assists while Bucknell made just 10 field goals in the opening 20 minutes.
Bucknell missed eight straight shots on two different occasions in the first half and made just seven of its first 27 shots before closing the half with three straight makes to reach 35% shooting.
Xander Rice scored 13 points and Ian Motta had 10 points and seven rebounds for Bucknell (7-6).
Rutgers closes the calendar year with a game against Coppin State on Dec. 30 before resuming conference play at No. 1 Purdue on Jan. 2.
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