Tariq Francis scored a career-high 34 points and made his only 3-pointer of the night in the final second to lift Rutgers past Penn 70-69 on Saturday night in Piscataway, N.J.
Rutgers trailed 66-59 with 2:24 to go but came back thanks to eight free throws — seven by Francis — and one triple on the last possession.
Francis shot 9 of 14 from the field and 15 of 19 from the foul line to carry Rutgers (6-6), which had lost six of its previous seven games. None of his teammates scored more than eight points as Penn led most of the game, outshooting Rutgers 42.6% to 41.1% and outrebounding the hosts 42-29.
TJ Power paired 19 points with 13 rebounds for the stunned Quakers (6-5). Michael Zanoni scored 14, Dalton Scantlebury added 13 and Cam Thrower tallied 11.
Francis drew back-to-back fouls on loose balls in the waning minutes, inching Rutgers closer with his free-throw shooting. Power was sent to the line with eight seconds left and missed both his attempts, handing Rutgers one final opportunity, and Francis took it himself.
Jamichael Davis had eight points and four steals for Rutgers. Bryce Dortch added nine rebounds and five blocked shots.
The Quakers led by eight on four occasions in the first half, including 31-23 with 1:31 left after Thrower hit a 3-pointer.
Rutgers snapped out of its funk with three straight field goals in the last 64 seconds. Francis’ jumper with one second left cut Rutgers’ halftime deficit to 33-29.
Penn built the lead to 37-29 before Rutgers used opportunistic defense to make a push. Davis turned a steal into a fastbreak bucket, and-one. After Rutgers made two free throws, Francis stepped in front of Penn’s inbounds pass and laid it in to tie the game at 39.
Dortch’s block led to Dylan Grant going the other way for an up-and-under style layup that gave Rutgers a 43-41 lead, its first since 2-0.
The Scarlet Knights trailed 52-49 with 10:02 to play after a layup by Darren Buchanan Jr., but they went the next 5:22 without making a field goal. Francis’ free throws gave Rutgers its final lead (55-44) at 7:44 until the game-winning shot.
Scantlebury accounted for seven straight Penn points down the stretch, and Zanoni’s triple and Power’s putback made it 66-59.
–Field Level Media
