Matt Allocco poured in 21 points and Princeton topped Rutgers 68-61 in the season opener Monday in Trenton, N.J.
Allocco made 9 of his 13 attempts and the Tigers, who went to the Sweet 16 in March, defeated another power-conference foe by making 9 of 20 3-point attempts and outrebounding the Scarlet Knights 39-35.
Xaivian Lee scored 18 points for Princeton in his first collegiate start, Zach Martini added 10 points and Caden Pierce had 15 rebounds — six on the offensive end. Allocco added nine boards.
Clifford Omoruyi had 12 points and seven rebounds for Rutgers (0-1). Antwone Woolfolk and Noah Fernandes each added 10.
It was the in-state rivals’ first meeting since December 2013, held on a neutral court in the state capital.
Rutgers fell behind 12-4 and responded by replacing Omoruyi down low with Woolfolk. Woolfolk tied the game at 14 on a steal near the top of the key and a fast-break dunk. Omoruyi joined the fray by lofting an alley-oop that Woolfolk dunked to make it 16-16.
Allocco started scoring in the paint and helped Princeton finish the half on a 7-0 run. He beat the buzzer with a mid-range jumper to put the Tigers up 32-28 at halftime, and led all scorers at the break with 13.
Lee made a 3-pointer and Peters followed with two in the first three minutes of the second half to put the Tigers up nine.
Fernandes scored a quick four as Rutgers rallied to tie the game at 45. Princeton then launched a 12-2 run. Martini canned two open triples, and Lee’s basket gave the Tigers their largest lead at 57-47.
The Scarlet Knights made one last push with eight straight points — Austin Williams nailed a 3-pointer and Fernandes made three free throws. But Lee made back-to-back layups for a 61-55 lead with 3:44 left, and the Tigers iced it on Allocco’s pull-up with 46 seconds left.
–Field Level Media
