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RU struggles against Hoyas

Published: Thursday, January 18, 2007

Updated: Sunday, February 22, 2009

By Brian Johnson

Associate Sports Editor

That wasn't the same Patrick Ewing on the court, or the same John Thompson coaching on the sideline.

But just like old times, the Georgetown post simply overmatched the Rutgers men's basketball team last night.

And the Scarlet Knights weren't only undersized against the Hoyas in their 68-54 loss at home last night - they didn't knock down first half shots.

Rutgers (8-10, 1-4) shot a dreadful 17.4 percent from the floor in the opening half, and shot 1-for-10 from beyond the three-point line.

By the time the Knights started shooting better from the floor, a Hoya 28-13 first half lead was more then an uphill climb with the size of Georgetown.

"You can't shoot the ball 1-for-10, 3-for-11, shoot 19 percent and be in games," Rutgers head coach Fred Hill Jr. said. "We went into halftime. We got pretty good looks. Someone has to stand up and make a shot."

The Knights were able to outscore the Hoyas by one point in the second half, but the Hoyas' post presence prevented a comeback.

Georgetown center Roy Hibbert led the night almost with a double-double with 16 points and nine boards.

Hibbert's 7'2", 278-pound frame was a load for the Knights all night.

Rutgers was only outrebounded 34-29, but a bigger 26-25 on the defensive glass. They were also outscored in the paint 40-20.

"Hibbert's height speaks for itself," Rutgers senior Adrian Hill said. "You have to always have him in the back of your mind. You have to keep on plugging away and that's what we did."

Coach Hill tried to throw a number of players at the Hoya post including freshman center Hamady N'diaye, but the inexperience showed. N'diaye only played seven minutes.

"[Hamady], it was a good experience for him," Hill said. "[Hibbert's] a guy who scored 25 on us last year. He had less this year, but he was just as effective. It's a tough assignment. I thought our guys battled which they always do."

JR Inman lead the Knights with 13 points on 4-for-9 shooting. Marquis Webb added 13 points as Hill added 10.

Junior forward Ollie Bailey came off the bench for RU and gave a lift to make the score more respectable.

Bailey finished the game with 10 points on 8-for-9 shooting from the free-throw stripe while adding six boards.

"I wanted to come in and play with a lot of energy," Bailey said. "My mind set is to go at him. I'm not scared of no one.

"We showed a lot tonight and we don't ever give up. That's important."

Hoyas forward Patrick Ewing Jr. entered the game at 12:23, where he heard a mixed reaction of cheers and boos from the Rutgers faithful. He scored only three points with one board, but the facial resemblance to his father - former NBA and Georgetown great Patrick Ewing - is impressive.

But Ewing was just a number of athletic players John Thompson III (son of former Hoyas coach and Hall of Fame coach John Thompson) was able to throw out on the court.

Georgetown freshman forward Dajuan Summers led all players with 17 going 5-for-7 from the field. The Hoyas shot 57.8 percent from the field for the game.

Rutgers has now dropped three games in a row, with two road games coming up.

A cause for concern for the Knights is sophomore forward Jaron Griffin.

Griffin was only 1-for-10 from the floor and only put up two points, for a player who's one of RU's leading scorers. This is the third straight game where Griffin didn't reach double-digits.

The Knights now head out on the road hoping that a change of scenery will help their cause.

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