Corey Chandler was so effective off the bench, Rutgers men's basketball head coach Fred Hill Jr. just might have to try it again.
The freshman guard provided much needed offense and fire coming off the pine to help the Scarlet Knights defeat Lafayette, 90-79.
After starting every game this season before yesterday, Hill opted to give the nod to freshman Mike Coburn at the beginning of the game because of a "gut feeling."
"I said to [Corey] it was my decision. Get ready to come off the bench," Hill said. "And I thought he was a champion.
"I have to say it again, '14 points in the first half, I don't know what I'm doing by starting him,'" Hill said jokingly.
Chandler finished the game with 19 points along with three assists for the Knights.
Rutgers (6-2), as a whole, shot 47 percent from the floor and 46 percent from downtown.
It was the Knights' highest point total of the year, where they saw five players reach double-figures.
In the first half, Rutgers shot 8-of-13 from beyond the three-point line and went up by a score of 42-39 at the half - with the help of 14 points by Chandler.
The freshman said coming off the bench doesn't matter to him.
"There's no starting rotations, so it wasn't a big deal," Chandler said. "It didn't matter. I play the same way and just bring a lot of enthusiasm."
Chandler provided that enthusiasm and put the nail in the Leopards' coffin at the end of the game, while also putting on a highlight reel for Rutgers fans.
With the Knights up 68-63 and with 4:34 left, Chandler stole the ball back after he missed the front end of a one and one.
After a hesitation move, he took off from the near block and put the ball in the hoop on a reverse lay-up to get the crowd out of their seats.
On the next defensive possession, Chandler grabbed the rebound off a Lafayette miss and took the ball from baseline to baseline for a finger-roll lay-up putting Rutgers up, 72-63.
Later down the stretch, Chandler found Coburn for a lay-up on a pass where he was frozen in mid-air to put Rutgers up for good, 79-68.
When the Rutgers dance team sported No. 1 jerseys in the second half, maybe it was because of the 6'2" guard's play - but then again, the uniforms did say "Dance Team" on the back and not "Chandler."
Rutgers junior forward JR Inman led all scorers with a career-high 26 points on 8-of-15 shooting, and he added nine boards.
In his first starting role, Coburn scored a career-high 15 points, but also committed seven turnovers. Junior point guard Anthony Farmer hit clutch shots down the end of the game and finished with 14 points on 4-of-6 shooting.
"Shooting is contagious," Hill said. "Corey knocks down the first two [shots], all of a sudden JR knocks his down. In the second half, we drove the ball in the second half and didn't settle."
When Chandler was asked after the game what he would think if Hill brought him off the bench again down the road, the Newark native said he'd be ready to go.
"I [would come] out with a little extra fire and add defense," Chandler said. "That's what I did tonight, I came out with a lot of passion - like always."
Junior guard Andrew Brown led Lafayette by scoring 17 points and adding five assists for the Leopards (5-3).
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