Dylan Harper compiled 16 points, 12 assists and 11 rebounds as Rutgers never trailed and pulled away late in the second half for a 91-64 victory over visiting Columbia on Monday in Piscataway, N.J.
Ace Bailey scored a game-high 24 points as the Scarlet Knights (8-5) avoided a second straight loss to an Ivy League opponent after falling to Princeton on Dec. 21. Bailey and Harper helped Rutgers outscore the Lions 25-9 over the final 10-plus minutes.
Bailey dominated the first half by scoring 17 points on 8-of-11 shooting. He finished 11 of 18 from the field and added eight rebounds.
After taking four shots and collecting seven rebounds and six assists before halftime, Harper scored 13 points after halftime. He finished 6 of 10 from the floor as he notched Rutgers’ first triple-double since Roy Hinson (24 points, 10 rebounds, 10 blocks) against Rhode Island on March 2, 1983.
Lathan Sommerville and Jamichael Davis added 11 points apiece as Rutgers shot 47.4 percent and outrebounded the Lions 45-31, including 14-3 on the offensive glass.
Geronimo Rubio De La Rosa paced the Lions (11-2) with 17 points. Kenny Noland added 16 as Columbia shot 40.7 percent and dropped its 11th straight to Rutgers.
Bailey scored seven points as Rutgers made seven of its first 10 shots and opened an 18-6 lead 5 1/2 minutes into the contest. The Scarlet Knights then missed 10 of 12 shots and Columbia cut the deficit to 23-18 on Rubio De La Rosa’s 3 with 9:20 left.
Rutgers recovered from its lull and took a 33-22 lead when Harper lobbed a pass over Columbia’s zone and Bailey dunked it with 6:46 left. The Scarlet Knights took their second 13-point lead on a 3 by PJ Hayes with 5:34 remaining and held a 44-35 lead by halftime after Columbia briefly cut the margin to six.
Noland’s triple brought Columbia within eight points with 14:07 left, but Harper scored seven points in a 10-2 run and his 3-pointer following a turnover pushed the lead to 64-48 with 11:57 remaining.
The Lions got the margin within 11 but Rutgers pulled away again while Bailey and Harper rested, taking a 73-55 lead on a basket by Jeremiah Williams with 6:31 left.
Harper got his triple-double on consecutive possessions by rebounding a missed 3 by Rubio De La Rosa with 5:05 left and finding Bailey for a layup 13 seconds later.
–Field Level Media
