Rutgers’ season ends with loss to Hofstra in 1st round of NIT
Hofstra #Hofstra
Rutgers’ season is over.
The top-seeded Scarlet Knights suffered an overtime loss to Hofstra in the first round of the NIT at Jersey Mike’s Arena on Tuesday, conceding a five-point lead with 25 seconds to play before getting outscored 14-12 in the extra period. Rutgers fell on the wrong side of a shootout that saw both teams combine for 53.7% shooting from the floor, including an 50.7% clip from the hosts and a 56.9% clip from the visitors.
The Scarlet Knights (19-15, 10-10) lost eight of their final 11 games of the season, concluding a late-season collapse in which they went from a near-lock for the NCAA Tournament following a 16-7 start to losing in the first round of the NIT.
Junior guard Cam Spencer led the way for Rutgers, scoring 22 points on 8-of-16 shooting, with center Cliff Omoruyi (12 points on 5-of-7 shooting), freshman guard Derek Simpson (19 points on 8-of-16 shooting) and fifth-year senior Caleb McConnell (13 points on 6-of-12 shooting) helped out.
McConnell was particularly hot in the second half, scoring 11 points on 5-of-7 shooting in the final 20 minutes. He hit back-to-back baskets in the final minute of regulation that seemed to close out the game before Hofstra scored five points in the final 24 seconds to force overtime. McConnell became the program’s all-time steal leader with his second steal of the night, surpassing program great Eddie Jordan with 221 career steals.
The contest marked Rutgers’ first home game in the NIT since the quarterfinal round of the 2004 tournament, where the Scarlet Knights beat Villanova to reach the semifinal of the competition for the first time in program history. The Scarlet Knights would finish as runners-up, falling to Michigan in the championship game at Madison Square Garden.
Rutgers was in the competition for the first time since 2006 after falling just short of earning a third consecutive NCAA Tournament at-large bid on Selection Sunday. The Scarlet Knights were the second team out of the field of 68, according to the selection committee, who cited their poor form after losing starting forward Mawot Mag to a season-ending knee injury (3-7 in final 10 games) and their weak non-conference schedule (314th out of 363 Division I teams) as the main reasons for their exclusion.
Rutgers seemed intent on proving the committee wrong in the early going, shooting out to a 14-4 lead within four minutes. The Scarlet Knights went with their full-court press early, forcing four turnovers in Hofstra’s first seven possessions while hitting four of their first seven shots on the other end. The Pride responded with a hot stretch of their own, knocking down 10 of their next 14 shots to fuel a 26-16 run that tied the game at 30 points with four minutes to play in the first half. The Scarlet Knights would close the half on a 10-5 run to take a 40-35 lead at the break.
The hosts would build it back up to eight points in the first two minutes of the second half, but Hofstra would respond with an 18-7 run over the next seven minutes to take its first lead, 56-53, with 11 minutes to play. Rutgers responded with a 9-0 run to retake the lead and control of the contest, but could not pull away. Hofstra hung around, answering every Scarlet Knights basket in a shootout in which the teams combined to shoot 57.4% in the second half. The Pride stayed within two possessions for the entire second half, and when it appeared the Scarlet Knights had pulled away by taking a five-point lead with 30 seconds to play, the visitors managed to send the game to overtime.
The extra period featured another back-and-forth offensive slugfest, with the teams combining to make 10 of their 13 shot attempts. The Scarlet Knights trailed for most of the period until Simpson tied the game at 86 with 32 seconds to play. But following the lead of the game, Rutgers could not get a key stop, allowing Tyler Thomas to hit a jumper to put Hofstra up 88-86 with 10 seconds to play. On the other end, Simpson could not do it again, missing a layup as time expired.
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Brian Fonseca may be reached at bfonseca@njadvancemedia.com.
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Hofstra forward Warren Williams (0) is fouled by Rutgers forward Aundre Hyatt (5) during the first half of an opening round NIT mens basketball game, Tuesday, March 14, 2023 in Piscataway, N.J.
© Andrew Mills/nj.com/TNS