Harper scores 24 points as No. 24 Rutgers rallies to beat Saint Peter's 75-65

PISCATAWAY, N.J. (AP) — Dylan Harper scored 24 points and hit a go-ahead layup with 3:49 to play to lead No. 24 Rutgers to a much-harder-than expected 75-65 victory over New Jersey foe Saint Peter's on Monday night.

The Scarlet Knights (2-0) had to overcame a five-point halftime deficit and twice had to rally in the final minutes after the Peacocks (0-3) wiped out a nine-point deficit and took one-point leads, the last at 65-64 on a layup by Tyreck Morris with 4:07 to go.

Harper hit a layup less than 20 seconds later and it keyed a game-ending 11-0 run for Rutgers, which did not allow a point after Morris' basket.

Fellow freshman Lathan Sommerville added 14 points for Rutgers, which again played without highly regarded freshman Ace Bailey for the second straight game. He has yet to made his collegiate debut after sustaining an undisclosed injury a week ago.

Marcus Randolph scored a career-high 22 points, but only six in the second half. Saint Peter's missed its final eight shots after shooting 53% in the first half to make a sellout crowd at Jersey Mike's Arena a little nervous.

Takeaways

Saint Peter's: The Peacocks were on the verge of their biggest win since knocking off Purdue in the Elite Eight when Shaheen Holloway was the coach in 2022.

Rutgers: The Scarlet Knights looked vulnerable and probably need Bailey to shore up things.

Key moment

The final four-plus minutes. Rutgers found a way to win and Saint Peter's didn't make any plays when it had a chance for an upset. Despite hitting the Peacocks' final two baskets Morris struggled at the end and finished 3 for 16 from the field.

Key stat

With the victory, Rutgers improved to 62-7 in non-conference home games under Steve Pikiell. It has won 11 straight non-conference home games and is 43-2 in those contests since the start of the 2019-20 season.

Up next

Saint Peter's visits UMBC on Saturday, and Rutgers hosts Monmouth on Friday.

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Paul Franklin, The Associated Press